GIFT    OF 
JJANE  K.SATHER 


ANDREW  JOHNSON, 


PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES ; 


HIS  LIFE  AND  SPEECHES. 


BY 

LILLIAN  FOSTER, 

AUTHOR  OF  "WAYSIDE  GLIMPSES  NORTH  AND  SOUTH,"  &o. 


NEW   YORK: 
RICHARDSON    &    CO., 

540  BROADWAY. 
1866. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S66, 

By  LILLIAN  FOSTER, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Di.-trict  Court  of  the  United  States  for  tha  South 
ern  Di&trict  of  .New  York. 


PREFACE. 


THE  future  of  our  country  depends  so  much  upon  the 
distinguished  and  remarkable  individual  who  now 
occupies  the  Presidential  Chair,  that  a  portrait  of  his 
life  and  character,  adapted  to  general  use,  cannot  fail 
to  receive  a  favorable  reception  from  the  entire  commu 
nity.  Such  a  biographical  sketch,  written  by  a  coun 
trywoman  of  the  Chief  Magistrate,  may  also  be  sup 
posed  to  interest,  in  a  particular  manner,  that  sex 
who  have  suffered  so  fearfully  during  the  late  terrible 
war,  and  who  now  rejoice  with  all  their  hearts  at  the 
prospects  of  Peace,  Union,  and  Prosperity  which  the 
noble  and  patriotic  conduct  of  the  President  is  rapidly 
restoring  to  every  section  of  the  great  Republic. 

A  true-hearted  woman  naturally  admires  and  appre 
ciates  great  and  heroic  excellence.  Her  tribute  of 
esteem  and  gratitude  for  brave  and  magnanimous 
actions  is  shadowed  by  no  jealousy  and  colored  by 
no  party  opinions, 


PREFACE. 


With  such  feelings,  I  present  to  my  countrymen 
and  especially  to  my  countrywomen,  this  brief  narra 
tion  of  the  life  and  public  services  of  His  EXCELLENCY 
PRESIDENT  ANDREW  JOHNSON,  believing  him  to  be  a 
statesman  whose  whole  intellect  is  devoted  to  the 
greatest  good  of  the  entire  United  States,  and  whose 
admirable  policy  of  restoration  commends  itself  to  the 
warmest  approbation  and  the  most  zealous  support  of 
the  best  and  wisest  portion  of  the  American  people. 


\ 

CONTENTS 


PAOB 

BIOGRAPHICAL  INTRODUCTION 9 


CHAPTER   I. 
The  Constitutionality  and  Rightfulness  of  Secession 33 

CHAPTER   II. 
The  Homestead  Bill 61 

CHAPTER    III. 
State  of  the  Union 125 

CHAPTER   IV. 

Speech  on  the  War  for  the  Union,  delivered  in  the  Senate, 
July  27,1861 130 

CHAPTER   Y. 

Speech  on  the  Proposed  Expulsion  of  Mr.  Bright,  deliver 
ed  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  Jan.  31, 1862..  136 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   VI. 

PA  OB. 

Appeal  to  the  People  of  Tennessee 179 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Nominated  for  the  Vice-Presidency 185 

CHAPTER   VIII. 
Takes  the  Oath  as  President 193 

CHAPTER   IX. 
Exception  of  the  Illinois  Delegation 195 

CHAPTER   X. 
Reception  of  the  British  Ambassador , . .  203 

CHAPTER   XL 
Reception  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps 206 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Address  to  Loyal  Southerners 208 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
Speech  to  the  Indiana  Delegation 213 

CHAPTER    XIV. 
A  Delegation  of  Southern  Men  visit  tho  President 210 


CONTENTS.  7 

CHAPTER  XV. 

PAIR. 

Veto  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  Bill 226 

CHAPTER   XVI. 
Speech  to  the  Citizens  of  Washington,  Feb.  22d,  1866 243 

CHAPTER   XVII. 
The  Civil  Rights  Bill.— The  President's  Veto 264 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 
Annual  Message  to  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress 281 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
Conclusion..,  .  814 


BIOGRAPHICAL  INTRODUCTION. 


AT  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  there 
resided  in  Raleigh,  the  capital  of  North  Carolina, 
a  couple  who  were  pecuniarily  in  circumstances 
which  excluded  them  from  a  social  position  with 
their  more  wealthy  and  aristocratic  neighbors ; 
yet  within  that  humble  abode  the  young  wife 
gave  birth  to  a  son,  who  was  destined  to  achieve 
the  highest  position  by  his  commanding  intellect 
and  exalted  moral  worth. 

ANDEEW  JOHNSON  was  bom  on  the  29th  day  of 
December,  1808.  While  still  in  his  fifth  year,  his 
father  lost  his  life  by  injuries  received  through 
magnanimous  and  successful  efforts  to  save  Col. 
Thomas  Henderson,  editor  of  the  Raleigh  Gazette, 
from  drowning, — leaving  his  wife  and  young  son 
dependent  upon  their  own  efforts  for  future  sup 
port.  The  calamitous  event  of  his  father's  death 
prevented  the  son  from  receiving  even  an  ordi 
nary  education.  The  admirable  system  of  com- 


EVv"    JOHNSON. 

mon  or  free  schools,  which  are  now  enjoyed  by 
the  poor  children  of  the  whole  country,  is  a  bless 
ing  which  at  that  time  had  not  been  experienced 
by  North  Carolina,  and  consequently  young 
Johnson  was  never  enabled  to  receive  an  hour's 
instruction  in  a  schoolroom.  At  the  early  age  of 
ten  years  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  tailor,  in  his 
native  town,  until  he  was  seventeen.  Applying 
himself  steadily  to  his  trade  for  his  own  and 
mother's  support,  he  was  left  without  any  re 
source  but  in  his  own  exertions,  and  he  thus  be 
gan  life  struggling  with  the  rough  business  world, 
but  with  a  heart  that  stoutly  battled  poverty  and 
misfortune,  and  that  soon  won  him  the  confidence 
and  respect  of  even  the  most  wealthy  and  respect 
able  portion  of  the  community  in  which  he  re 
sided. 

In  the  company  of  his  associates  he  felt  the 
great  want  of  the  learning  which  fortune  denied 
him,  and  at  once  resolved  to  remedy  the  deficien 
cy  by  all  the  means  which  energy  and  time  could 
command.  A  gentleman  residing  in  town  made 
frequent  visits  to  the  tailor's  shop,  who  enlight 
ened  the  minds  and  lightened  the  hours  of  toil 
by  reading  to  the  workmen.  The  book  selected 
(a  collection  of  speeches  by  British  statesmen)  so 
interested  and  aroused  the  ambition  of  young 
Johnson,  that  his  mind  was  indoctrinated  with 
principles  and  ideas  which  in  after-years  were 
developed  in  the  halls  of  Congress.  He  devoted 
the  hours  after  his  day's  work  was  done  to  learn- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    INTRODUCTION.  11 

ing  the  alphabet,  which  he  soon  mastered  ;  and 
then  he  asked  the  loan  of  the  book,  that  he  might 
learn  to  spell.  The  owner,  instead  of  loaning, 
gave  him  the  work,  and  also  instructed  him  in 
the  formation  of  words.  Through  .perseverance 
and  patience,  aided  by  a  strong  resolution  to  sur 
mount  all  obstacles,  success  crowned  his  efforts ; 
and  to  his  great  delight  he  found  himself  able  to 
read  the  speeches  to  which  he  had  only  a  short 
time  before  been  an  interested  listener. 

The  term  of  his  apprenticeship  having  expired 
in  1824,  he  went  to  Laurens  Courthouse,  S.  C., 
where  he  worked  as  a  journeyman  until  May, 
1826,  when  he  returned  to  Raleigh.  There  he 
remained  until  September  of  that  year,  when,  in 
company  with  his  mother,  he  removed  to  Green 
ville,  a  small  town  in  Eastern  Tennessee,  at  which 
place  lie  obtained  work.  Not  many  months 
elapsed  after  his  settlement  in  Greenville  before 
he  married  a  young  woman,  whose  mental  attain 
ments  and  devoted  affection  exerted  a  very  ben 
eficial  influence  on  his  future  life.  Sympathizing 
in  the  desires  of  her  husband  to  acquire  an  edu 
cation,  and  in  his  ambition  to  rise  to  distinction, 
scarcely  had  the  marriage  ceremony  been  per 
formed  before  this  estimable  woman  commenced 
instructing,  by  her  conversation,  and  reading  to 
him  when  employed  on  his  work-bench,  thus 
lightening  his  labor  by  her  constant  oral  instruc 
tion.  At  night,  when  the  day's  work  was  done, 
the  instructions  were^continued  by  lessons  in 


12  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

writing  and  arithmetic.  Stimulated  by  ambition, 
by  unceasing  perseverance  and  an  indomitable 
will  the  poor  tailor  boy  soon  became  proficient 
in  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic,  and  was  not 
long  in  ripening  into  a  thorough  English  scholar. 
"While  this  romantic  part  of  their  history  was  in 
progress,  Mr.  Johnson,  thinking  to  better  his 
condition  by  removing  "West,  left  Greenville  ;  but 
after  an  absence  of  some  months  he  returned  to 
his  former  home,  where  he  permanently  settled. 
The  broad  and  enlightened  views  of  the  more 
liberal  British  statesmen,  engrafted  on  his  mind 
by  the  readings  in  the  old  workshop,  and  by  his 
future  studies  of  the  principles  of  republican 
government — a  government  of  the  people,  by  the 
people,  and  for  the  people — formed  the  basis  of 
that  system  of  political  philosophy  which  has 
rendered  Mr.  Johnson  conspicuous  among  the 
most  enlightened  statesmen  of  his  country. 

From  the  very  commencement  of  Mr.  John 
son's  career  he  devoted  himself  to  the  interest 
and  welfare  of  the  toiling  and  laboring  masses. 
From  their  ranks  he  had  sprung,  and  upon  them 
in  reality  rest  the  hopes  and  glory  of  our  country. 
He  soon  became  known  as  the  most  able  advo 
cate  of  the  working  men  in  Greenville.  To 
advance  the  true  interest  of  the  masses  of  the 
people,  he  used  his  influence  to  assert  their  right 
to  representation  in  the  town  councils.  In  1828 
the  young  tailor  was  triumphantly  elected  alder 
man  in  Greenville,  which  position  he  held  until 


BIOGRAPHICAL    INTRODUCTION.  13 

1830,  when  he  was  elected  mayor,  and  served  in 
that  capacity  for  three  succeeding  years,  at  the 
same  time  holding  the  position  of  trustee  of  Hhea 
•  Academy,  to  which  he  had  been  appointed  by 
the  County  Court.  In  1834  he  bore  a  conspic 
uous  part  in  the  adoption  of  the  new  Constitution 
of  Tennessee,  and  established  his  reputation  as 
one  of  the  foremost  men  of  his  State. 

In  1835  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  State,  for  the  counties 
of  Green  and  Washington.  He  distinguished 
himself  in  that  body  more  particularly  by  his 
earnest  opposition  to  a  grand  scheme  of  internal 
improvement,  which  he  contended  would  prove 
a  failure  ;  and  also  denounced  it  as  a  base  fraud, 
tending  to  impoverish  the  State  treasury  and 
cripple  the  resources  of  the  commonwealth. 
This  opposition  rendered  him  unpopular  at  the 
time,  and  prevented  his  re-election  in  1837.  The 
passage  of  the  bill  he  had  opposed  proved,  as  he 
had  predicted,  a  useless  burden  to  the  people ; 
and  in  1839  he  was  again  returned  to  the  Legis 
lature. 

In  1840,  in  the  contest  between  General  Har 
rison  and  Martin  Yan  Buren,  Mr.  Johnson  was 
one  of  the  Presidential  Electors  on  the  Democratic 
ticket,  and  canvassed  the  State  for  Mr.  Van  Bu 
ren, — not  unfrequently  meeting  upon  the  stump 
some  of  the  most  able  orators  of  the  opposition, 
with  whom  he  not  only  competed  successfully, 
but  excelled  the  ablest  of  them  in  the  force  and 


14  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

power  of  his  reasoning.  In  1841  he  was  sent  to 
the  State  Senate  from  Green  and  Hawkins  coun 
ties,  and,  while  in  that  body,  introduced  some  ex 
cellent  and  judicious  projects  for  internal  improve 
ments  in  Eastern  Tennessee.  In  the  Senate,  as  in 
the  lower  branch  of  the  Legislature,  he  proved 
himself  a  foremost  member  ;  ever  advocating  all 
that  he  believed  to  be  right,  and  fearlessly  de 
nouncing  that  which  he  deemed  wrong. 

The  people,  feeling  entire  confidence  in  his 
abilities  and  appreciating  his  services,  resolved 
to  extend  his  sphere  of  usefulness  ;  and  in  1843 
he  was  nominated  for  Congress  in  the  First  Dis 
trict  of  Tennessee,  embracing  seven  counties. 
His  opponent,  Colonel  John  A.  Asken,  a  United 
States  Bank  Democrat,  a  gentleman  of  promi 
nence  and  ability,  he  handsomely  defeated,  and 
in  December  of  the  same  year  took  his  seat  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  at  Washington, 
retaining  the  position,  by  successive  elections, 
until  1853. 

His  State  was  redistricted  previous  to  1853, 
and  that  portion  in  which  Mr.  Johnson  resided 
was  so  districted  as  to  place  him  in  a  district 
having  a  large  Whig  majority  ;  and  thus  he  Ic.st 
his  seat  in  Congress.  Gustavus  A.  Henry,  who 
was  at  that  time  Whig  candidate  for  governor, 
used  his  influence  to  effect  this  party  trick,  and 
Mr.  Johnson,  in  return,  determined  to  defeat  the 
man  who  had  resorted  to  such  a  measure  to  shut 
him  out  of  Congress.  After  an  exciting  canvass, 


BIOGKAPHICAL    INTRODUCTION.  15 

i 

Mr.  Johnson  was  chosen  governor.  In  1855  he 
was  re-elected,  defeating  one  of  the  ablest  Whigs 
in  the  State,  Meredith  P.  Gentry.  The  duties  of 
his  administration  were  performed  without  regard 
to  party,  and  it  was  confessed  that  he  was  one 
of  the  ablest  and  most  impartial  governors  ever 
elected  in  that  State. 

In  the  year  1857,  Mr.  Johnson  was  elected  by 
the  Legislature  of  Tennessee  United  States  sen 
ator  for  the  full  term  of  six  years ;  and  he 
brought  to  this  high  position  the  same  indomit 
able  energy,  talent,  and  devotion  to  the  people's 
welfare  which  had  distinguished  his  whole  public 
life.  He  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest  mem 
bers  of  the  Senate,  and  faithfully  stood  by  the 
interest  of  his  State  until  it  joined  the  Confed 
eracy,  when  he  stood  by  the  old  Union,  and  was 
appointed  Military  Governor  of  Tennessee  in 
1862. 

Mr.  Johnson  was  a  representative  of  the  people. 
Born  of  the  people,  and  at  an  early  age  thrown 
upon  his  own  resources,  he  grew  up  amongst  the 
people,  becoming  familiar  with  their  lives,  their 
wrongs,  their  wants,  and  their  rights.  Proud 
that  for  the  knowledge  he  possessed  he  was  in 
debted  solely  to  his  own  exertions,  he  stood  in 
the  halls  of  Congress — Andrew  Johnson,  Tailor 
and  Statesman,  the  equal  of  any  member  of  either 
House.  Modestly  appreciating  the  dignity  of 
his  position,  he  never  permitted  a  scoff  at  his 
calling,  or  an  indignity  at  the  laboring  classes, 


10  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

to  pass  unrebuked.  He,  on  one  occasion, 
said  : 

"  Sir,  I  do  not  forget  that  I  am  a  mechanic.  I 
am  proud  to  own  it.  Neither  do  I  forget  that 
Adam  was  a  tailor,  and  sewed  fig-leaves,  or  that 
our  Saviour  was  the  son  of  a  carpenter." 

He  had  great  aversion  to  aristocracy,  and  per 
haps  was  not  without  prejudices  against  gentle 
men  reared  in  affluence  and  idleness,  arrogating 
to  themselves  the  claim  to  all  respectability  in 
the  world.  On  one  occasion  Jefferson  Davis  su 
perciliously  asked  :  "  What  do  you  mean  by  the 
laboring  classes  ?"  Andrew  Johnson  replied  : 
"  Those  who  earn  their  bread  by  the  sweat  of 
their  face,  and  not  by  fatiguing  their  ingenuity." 

He  was  a  true  Democrat,  and  a  firm  believer  in 
the  sovereignty  of  the  people  :  respecting  states 
men  and  hating  politicians — holding  that  legisla 
tion  was  for  the  many,  and  not  for  the  benefit  of 
any  party.  He  Avas  consistently  in  favor  of  curtail 
ment  in  governmental  expenses,  and  participated 
in  nearly  every  debate  upon  appropriation  bills. 
He  introduced  resolutions  to  reduce  the  salaries 
of  members  of  Congress,  and  all  officers  of  the 
government,  civil,  military,  and  naval.  He  op 
posed  all  unnecessary  appropriations  in  Congress, 
from  his  dislike  to  "  speculations  and  jobs." 

He  was  the  faithful  friend  of  the  poor  and  of 
the  laboring  classes,  and  ever  appeared  in  Con 
gress  as  tlieir  champion.  He  introduced  the  sub 
ject  of  homesteads  into  the  House  of  llepresenta- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  INTRODUCTION.       17 

tives,  and  advocated  the  cause  with  success  in 
that  branch.  He  also  brought  up  the  subject 
in  the  Senate,  and  debated  it  at  great  length  ; 
but  the  bill,  as  passed,  was  vetoed  by  Mr.  Bu 
chanan.  He  proposed  an  amendment  to  the 
tariff  bill,  with  a  view  of  taxing  capital  instead 
of  labor.  He  also  opposed  the  tariff  on  tea  and 
sugar. 

He  advocated  the  bill  to  refund  the  fine  im 
posed  upon  Andrew  Jackson  by  Judge  Hall  at 
New  Orleans  (House  of  Representatives,  Jan.  8, 
1844)  ;  was  in  favor  of  the  annexation  of  Texas 
(H.  E.,  January  21,  1845) ;  discussed  the  Oregon 
question,  asserting  our  right  to  54°  40',  but  sus 
tained  the  administration  in  the  final  settlement 
of  -the  question  (H.  E.,  January  31,  1846)  ;  ad 
dressed  the  House  on  the  Mexican  question,  in 
support  of  the  administration,  December  15, 
1846,  January  5,  1847,  and  August  2,  1847 ;  op 
posed  the  bill  establishing  the  courts  of  claims 
(H.  E.,  January  6,  1849)  ;  made  an  earnest  plea 
for  the  admission  of  California,  and  the  protec 
tion  of  slavery  (H.  E.,  June  5, 1850) ;  debated  the 
Mexican  indemnity  bill  (H.  E.,  January  21,  28, 
1852) ;  also  the  bill  for  right  of  way  on  rail  and 
plank  roads  (H.  E.,  July  20,  1852)  ;  made  a 
speech  on  frauds  in  the  Treasury  Department 
(H.  E.,  January  13,  1853)  ;  and  another  on  coin 
age  (H.  E.,  February  2,  1853). 

While  in  the  Senate,  in  addition  to  the  meas 
ures  referred  to  more  at  length  in  this  sketch,  he 


18 


opposed  the  increase  of  tlie  regular  army  at  the 
time  of  the  Mormon  difficulties  (Senate,  February 
17,  1857)  ;  had  an  earnest  debate  with  Honorable 
John  Bell,  his  colleague,  on  the  Tennessee  reso 
lutions  inviting  Bell  to  resign  (Senate,  February 
23,  24,  1857)  ;  participated  in  the  debate  on  the 
admission  of  Minnesota  (Senate,  April  6,  1858)  ; 
opposed  the  Pacific  Kailroad  bill,  and  repudiated 
the  idea  that  it  could  be  imposed  upon  him  as  a 
Democratic  measure  (Senate,  January  25,  1859)  ; 
advocated  retrenchment  (Senate,  January  4  and 
February  12,  1859)  ;  and  warmly  defended  Ten 
nessee  (Senate,  March  26,  1860). 

A  native  of  a  slave  State,  and  himself  the 
owner  of  slaves,  "  acquired  by  the  toil  of  his  own 
hands,"  he  accepted  slavery  as  it  existed.  Strong 
in  the  belief  that  the  agitation  of  the  subject 
would  eventually  lead  to  the  abolition  of  slavery, 
and  the  dissolution  of  the  Union  would  naturally 
follow,  he  opposed  its  introduction  into  the  de 
bates  of  Congress,  and  was  one  of  those  who  dis 
believed  the  right  to  petition  upon  the  subject, 
giving  his  reasons  in  a  speech  delivered  January 
31st,  1844: 

"  My  position  is,  that  Congress  has  no  power 
to  interfere  with  the  subject  of  slavery  ;  that  it  is 
an  institution  local  in  its  character  and  peculiar 
to  the  States  where  it  exists,  and  no  other  power 
has  the  right  to  control  it."* 


•-  • 


*  Speech  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  June  5th,  1SGO. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    INTRODUCTION.  19 

He  continued  true  to  this  belief,  and  was  con 
sistent  in  his  course  to  the  very  last,  and  in  the 
stormy  scenes  in  the  Senate,  in  December,  1860, 
we  find  him  demanding  new  guaranties  for  the 
perpetuity  of  slavery. 

But  it  needed  the  severe  trial  of  the  crisis  of 
1860  and  1861  to  develop  the  strong  points  in  his 
character,  and  to  discover  his  sincere  love  for 
and  undeviating  honesty  to  the  Union.  In  those 
dark  days,  when  each  man  was  suspicious  of  his 
neighbor,  the  country  demanded  men  of  strength 
— with  comprehension  to  grasp  the  great  question 
of  the  day — to  discern  its  bearings  upon  the 
future  ;  men,  "  bold  to  take  up,  firm  to  sustain," 
the  glorious  flag  of  a  commonwealth  of  States. 
Few  who  passed  through  and  were  tried  by  the 
fierce  ordeal  of  those  terrible  hours  came  forth 
a  wiser  statesman  and  more  honest  patriot  than 
Andrew  Johnson. 

An  ardent  admirer  of  Andrew  Jackson,  the 
memorable  words  of  that  invincible  patriot — 
"  The  Union,  it  must  and  shall  be  preserved" — 
were  deeply  imprinted  on  his  heart.  In  a  speech, 
delivered  in  the  House  of  Kepresentatives,  De 
cember  19th,  1846,  in  support  of  the  policy  of 
Mr.  Folk's  administration  in  carrying  the  war 
into  Mexico,  he  had  said : 

"  I  am  in  favor  of  supporting  the  administra 
tion  in  this  act,  because  I  believe  it  to  be  right. 
But,  sir,  I  care  not  whether  right  or  wrong,  /  am 
for  my  country  always" 


20  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

In  December,  1859,  lie  bad  denounced  the  John 
Brown  raid  on  Harper's  Ferry,  and  said  he  be 
lieved  it  to  be  the  legitimate  fruit  of  abolition 
teachings.  He  wished  for  the  punishment  of  its 
leaders  under  the  Constitution,  for  a  hostile 
entrance  into  a  sovereign  State.  Under  the  same 
Constitution,  he  remained  firm  in  1860,  after  the 
election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the  presidency, 
and  feared  none  of  the  visions  which  so  disturbed 
the  imagination  of  a  majority  of  the  Southern 
senators  and  representatives.  In  view  of  the  in 
creasing  excitement  at  the  South,  he  thought  tho 
North  should  be  willing  to  give  some  new  consti 
tutional  guaranties  for  the  protection  of  slavery, 
and  introduced  resolutions  to  that  effect,  Decem 
ber  13th,  1860,  which  were  referred  to  the  select 
committee  of  thirteen.  Five  days  later,  in  a 
powerful  speech,  he  appealed  to  the  Southern 
senators  to  remain  in  the  Union,  and  "  fight  for 
their  constitutional  rights  on  the  battlements  of  the 
Constitution."  He  did  not  mean  to  be  driven  out 
of  the  Union,  and  if  anybody  must  go  out,  it  must  be 
those  who  have  violated  the  instrument  that  binds 
us  together  by  passing  personal  liberty  bills  and 
opposing  the  execution  of  the  fugitive  slave  law. 

At  the  first  session  of  the  Thirty-seventh  Con 
gress,  in  July  and  August,  1861,  he  submitted  the 
credentials  of  the  senators  from  TVest  Virginia, 
with  appropriate  remarks.  On  the  26th  of  July, 
18(51,  he  introduced  a  resolution  defining  tho 
objects  of  the  war,  as  follows  : 


BIOGRAPHICAL    INTRODUCTION.  21 

"  Resolved.  That  the  present  deplorable  civil  war 
has  been  forced  upon  the  country  by  the  disunionists 
of  the  Southern  States,  now  in  revolt  against  the 
Constitutional  Government,  and  in  arms  around  the 
capital  ;  that  in  this  national  emergency,  Congress, 
banishing  all  feeling  of  mere  passion  or  resentment, 
will  recollect  only  its  duty  to  the  whole  country  ; 
that  this  war  is  not  prosecuted  upon  our  part  in  any 
spirit  of  oppression,  nor  for  any  purpose  of  conquest 
or  subjugation,  nor  for  the  purpose  of  authorizing  or 
interfering  with  the  rights  or  established  institutions 
of  those  States,  but  to  defend  and  maintain  the  supre 
macy  of  the  Constitution  and  all  laws  made  in  pur 
suance  thereof,  and  to  preserve  the  Union,  with  all 
the  dignity,  equality,  and  rights  of  the  several  States, 
unimpaired ;  that  as  soon  as  these  objects  are  accom 
plished,  the  war  ought  to  cease." 

This  was  passed  after  a  long  debate,  by  a  vote 
of  thirty  to  five. 

On  the  31st  of  January,  1862,  he  made  a  de 
termined  speech  on  the  conduct  of  Senator 
Bright,  and  voted  for  expelling  the  man  who, 
four  years  before,  had  administered  to  him  the 
senatorial  oath. 

From  the  outset  of  the  rebellion,  the  course  of 
Mr.  Johnson  did  not  please  the  secessionists  of 
Tennessee  or  of  the  whole  South.  Mob  law  pre 
vailed,  and  ruffians,  full  of  malice,  and  with  the 
ferocity  of  brutes,  had  inaugurated  a  reign  of 
terror,  and  citizens  who  remained  loyal  to  the 
Union  were  subjected  to  every  possible  indignity 


22  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

and  persecution.  Ho  left  Washington  in  April, 
1861,  at  the  close  of  the  session  of  Congress,  and 
on  the  21st  of  that  month  he  suffered  personal 
peril  at  Lynchburg,  Virginia,  and  at  various 
places  along  his  route.  A  price  was  set  upon  his 
head,  and  personal  violence  threatened  if  he  re 
mained  in  Tennessee.  Such  seeming  indignities 
were  the  more  honorable  to  him,  inasmuch  as 
they  arose  from  his  noble  devotion  to  principle, 
when  strong  men  failed  and  yielded  to  what  they 
feebly  claimed  to  be  the  real  "  sentiment"  of  their 
State  in  reference  to  secession. 

On  the  19th  of  June,  1861,  while  on  his  way 
to  Washington  to  attend  the  special  session  of 
Congress,  he  was  the  recipient  of  a  warm  public 
welcome  from  the  loyal  people  of  Cincinnati.  On 
that  occasion  he  delivered  an  able  address,  de 
fining  his  position,  from  which  we  will  give  a 
short  extract,  not  having  space  for  the  entire 
speech  : 

"  So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  am  willing  to  say 
in  this  connection,  that  I  am  proud  to  stand  here 
among  you  as  one  of  the  humble  upholders  and 
supporters  of  the  stars  and  stripes  that  have 
been  borne  by  Washington  through  a  seven 
years'  revolution — a  bold  and  manly  struggle 
for  our  independence,  and  separation  from  the 
mother  country.  That  is  my  flag — that  flag  was 
borne  by  Washington  in  triumph.  Under  it  I 
want  to  live,  and  under  no  other.  It  is  that  flag 
iiiat  has  been  borne  in  triumph  by  the  revolu- 


BIOGRAPHICAL    INTRODUCTION.  23 

tionary  fathers  over  every  battle-field,  when  our 
brave  men,  after  toil  and  danger,  laid  down  and 
slept  oil  the  cold  ground,  with  no  covering  but 
the  inclement  sky,  and  arose  in  the  morning  and 
renewed  their  march  over  the  frozen  ground,  as 
the  blood  trickled  from  their  feet — all  to  protect 
that  banner  and  bear  it  aloft  triumphantly." 

While  in  "Washington,  he  urged  upon  the  Pres 
ident  and  Secretary  of  War  the  importance  and 
the  justice  of  aiding  and  protecting  the  Unionists 
of  East  Tennessee,  that  Switzerland  of  America. 
Meanwhile,  in  the  eastern  portion  of  that  State, 
Confederates  confiscated  Mr.  Johnson's  slaves  ; 
went  to  his  home,  drove  his  sick  wife,  with  her 
child,  into  the  street ;  and  turned  their  house, 
built  by  his  own  hands,  into  a  hospital  and 
barracks. 

In  February,  1862,  General  Grant  entered  Ten 
nessee,  and  won  the  great  victories  of  Fort  Henry 
and  Fort  Donelson.  The  subsequent  advance  of 
General  Buell's  forces  compelled  the  withdrawal 
of  the  main  body  of  the  insurgents  from  Western 
and  Middle  Tennessee,  and  Nashville  was  ren 
dered  indefensible.  The  Confederate  govern 
ment  of  the  State  was  therefore  removed  to 
Memphis.  The  larger  portion  of  the  State  hav 
ing  been  thus  recovered,  and  in  the  occupation 
of  the  Federal  forces,  President  Lincoln  ap 
pointed  Andrew  Johnson  military  governor,  with 
the  rank  of  brigadier-general  of  volunteers.  On 
the  5th  of  March,  1862,  the  Senate  confirmed  the 


^4:  ANDEEW   JOHXSOX. 

appointment,  and  Governor  Johnson  left  his  seat 
in  that  body  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of  his  new 
position. 

We  cannot  conceive  of  a  more  fitting  appoint 
ment  than  this.  He  had  borne  many  personal 
indignities  ;  his  family  had  been  mercilessly  per 
secuted  :  but  threats  could  not  intimidate  him. 
He  promised  that  the  rights  of  the  people  should 
be  respected,  and  their  wrongs  redressed ;  that 
the  loyal  should  be  honored,  and  the  erring  and 
misguided  should  be  welcomed  on  their  return  ; 
intelligent  and  conscious  treason  should  be  pun 
ished — boldly  proclaiming  that  traitors  should 
be  hung.  Dauntless  but  just,  determined  but 
compassionate,  he  was  the  man  of  all  men  to  rule 
with  firmness  in  such  times.  The  man  who 
uttered  words  like  these  in  a  border  State, 
amidst  anarchy  and  a  fierce  civil  war,  and  set  to 
work  in  right  earnest  to  verify  his  prediction,  is 
assuredly  no  common  man.  Mr.  Johnson,  with 
the  inspiration  of  a  true  man  of  genius,  believed 
in  his  own  powers,  and  felt  they  must  ultimately 
prevail.  He  reached  Nashville  on  the  12th  of 
March,  in  company  with  Horace  Maynard,  Em 
erson  Etheridge,  and  others  who  had  been  polit 
ical  exiles.  He  was  enthusiastically  received  by 
the  long  suffering  Unionists ;  and  in  response  to 
a  serenade,  addressed  the  assemblage,  which 
address  ho  afterwards  published  as  "An  appeal 
to  the  people  of  Tennessee."  In  this  address  he 
sketched  the  history  of  the  secession  movement, 


BIOGRAPHICAL    INTRODUCTION.  25 

and  showed  how  the  government  of  the  Common 
wealth  had  been  wrecked  for  the  time  by  its 
leaders.  He  said  that  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  could  do  no  less  than  guarantee 
Tennessee  a  republican  form  of  government,  and 
that  his  work  was  to  accomplish  that  purpose. 
Later  in  March,  Governor  Johnson  ordered  the 
mayor  and  city  council  of  Nashville  to  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance.  Upon  their  refusing  so  to  do, 
their  places  were  proclaimed  vacant,  and  other 
officials  were  appointed.  It  was  soon  understood 
that  spoken  or  written  disunionism  would  subject 
the  transgressors  to  similar  justice ;  which  was 
carried  out  by  incarcerating  Turner  S.  Foster,  a 
well-known  secessionist,  who  had  been  recently 
chosen  judge  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  Nashville. 
The  clergymen  of  the  city,  who,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  the  Catholic,  not  only  entertained  dis 
union  sentiments,  but  boldly  preached  them  from 
their  pulpits,  were  requested  by  the  governor  to 
take  the  oath  of  allegiance.  They  obeyed  the  sum 
mons  so  far  as  to  appear  before  Governor  Johnson, 
who,  perfectly  composed,  entered  the  room,  shak 
ing  hands  familiarly  with  two  or  three  of  them, 
and  said :  "  Well,  gentlemen,  what  is  your  desire  ?" 
They  requested  a  few  days  to  consider  the  sub 
ject  of  signing  the  paper.  The  governor  granted 
them  a  week,  and  said  to  them  :  "  It  seems  to  me 
that  there  should  be  but  little  hesitation  among 
you,  gentlemen,  about  the  matter.  All  that  is 
required  of  you  is  to  sign  the  oath  of  allegiance. 


26  ANDKEW    JOHNSON. 

If  you  are  loyal  citizens  you  can  have  no  reason 
to  refuse  to  do  so.  If  you  are  disloyal,  and 
working  to  obstruct  the  operations  of  the  Gov 
ernment^  it  is  my  duty,  as  the  representative  of 
that  Government,  to  see  that  you  are  placed  in  a 
position  so  that  the  least  possible  harm  can 
result  from  your  proceedings.  You  certainly 
cannot  reasonably  refuse  to  renew  your  alle 
giance  to  the  Government  that  is  now  protecting 
you  and  your  families  and  property." 

At  the  expiration  of  a  week  the  clergymen  signi 
fied  to  Governor  Johnson  their  determination  not 
to  take  the  oath,  and  were  sent  to  the  peniten 
tiary,  prior  to  their  removal  to  General  Halleck's 
quarters,  to  be  exchanged  for  Union  prisoners. 

In  September,  General  Buell  evacuated  all 
North  Alabama  and  Southern  Tennessee.  Gov 
ernor  Johnson  deplored  the  wholesale  desertion 
of  the  country,  and  did  not  concur  with  General 
Buell  as  to  its  propriety.  On  the  5th  the  enemy 
recaptured  Murfreesboro'.  On  the  6th  Nashville 
was  thrown  into  a  state  of  great  excitement,  in 
consequence  of  a  current  report  that  General 
Buell  had  determined  upon  the  evacuation  of  the 
city.  When  the  rumor  reached  Governor  John 
son,  he  earnestly  protested  against  such  a  course, 
asserting  that  the  city  should  be  defended  to  the 
last  extremity,  and  then  destroyed,  to  prevent  its 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  He  was  so 
disgusted  with  General  Buell' s  movements,  that 
he  addressed  a  letter  to  President  Lincoln  on 


BIOGKAP111CAL     INTRODUCTION.  27 

the  subject,  and  recommended  his  removal.  Gen 
eral  Thomas,  who  was  placed  in  command  of  the 
city,  heartily  sustained  Governor  Johnson's  deter 
mination,  and  the  city  was  strongly  fortified. 
Afterwards  General  Negley  was  assigned  to  the 
command. 

These  months  proved  a  dark  and  perilous  time 
for  the  citizens  of  Nashville  and  the  safety  of 
the  provisional  government.  The  State  was  in 
fested  with  guerrillas,  and  the  Confederate  forces, 
under  Kirby  Smith  and  others,  moved  northward 
through  Tennessee  to  invade  Kentucky.  At 
times  Nashville  was  wholly  isolated — its  commu 
nications  cut  off  in  every  direction ;  provisions 
became  scarce,  prices  enormously  high,  and 
much  suffering  prevailed.  Through  all  these 
trying  times  Governor  Johnson  remained  hope 
ful  and  self-reliant,  inspiring  confidence  in  all 
around  him,  and  reviving  courage  by  his  calm 
ness  and  determination.  Many  of  the  inhab 
itants  of  Nashville,  whose  fathers,  husbands, 
brothers,  and  sons  were  in  arms  against  the 
Government,  left  their  families  to  be  cared  for  by 
the  authorities.  To  remedy  this,  the  Governor 
addressed  the  following  circular  to  such  of  the 
avowed  secessionists  of  the  city  as  were  pecuni 
arily  able  to  respond : 

STATE  OF  TENNESSEE,  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT, 
NASHVILLE,  August  18,  1862. 

SIR — There  are  many  wives  and  helpless  children 
in  the  city  of  Nashville  and  county  of  Davidson,  who 


28  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

have  been  reduced  to  poverty  and  wretchedness  in 
consequence  of  their  husbands  and  fathers  having 
been  forced  into  the  armies  of  this  unholy  and  nefa 
rious  rebellion.  Their  necessities  have  become  so 
manifest,  and  their  demands  for  the  necessaries  of  life 
so  urgent,  that  the  laws  of  justice  and  humanity 
would  he  violated  unless  something-  was  done  to  re 
lieve  their  suffering  and  destitute  condition. 

You  are  therefore  requested  to  contribute  the  sum  of 
-  dollars,  which  you  will  pay  over  within  the  next 
five  days  to  James  Whitworth,  Esq.,  Judge  of  the 
County  Court,  to  be  by  him  distributed  among  these 
destitute  families  in  such  manner  as  may  be  pre 
scribed. 

Respectfully,  etc., 

ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

Attest :  Military  Governor. 

EDWARD  II.  EAST,  Secretary  of  State. 

After  several  attacks  upon  the  city,  which  were 
gallantly  repulsed  by  General  Negley,  the  Con 
federates  were  forced  to  retire,  as  General  Eose- 
crans,  who  had  relieved  General  Buell,  was 
advancing  from  the  direction  of  Bowling  Green. 
In  November  the  forces  under  command  of  the 
latter  general  entered  the  city,  and  found  its 
defenders  on  half-rations,  but  still  full  of  courage 
and  determination.  In  October,  Governor  John 
son's  family  rejoined  him,  after  incurring  and  es 
caping  numerous  perils  while  on  their  journey  from 
Bristol,  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  State. 

On  the  18th  of  December,  Governor  Johnson 


BIOGRAPHICAL    INTRODUCTION.  29 

issued  an  order  nearly  identical  with  his  circular 
of  August  18th,  assessing  the  property  of  the 
enemies  of  the  Government  to  the  amount  of 
sixty  thousand  dollars,  for  the  support  of  the 
poor,  the  widows,  and  the  orphans,  made  so  by 
the  war. 

After  the  retreat  of  General  Bragg  from  Mur- 
freesboro',  in  July,  1863,  West  and  Middle  Ten 
nessee  were  entirely  under  Federal  control. 
Burnside  then  advanced  into  East  Tennessee 
and  drove  the  insurgents  out.  A  convention  was 
held  at  Nashville,  in  September,  to  consider  the 
restoration  of  Tennessee  to  the  Union.  Gov 
ernor  Johnson  thus  expressed  his  views  on  that 
question  :  "  Tennessee  is  not  out  of  the  Union — 
never  has  been,  and  never  will  be  out.  The 
bonds  of  the  Constitution  and  the  Federal  power 
will  always  prevent  that.  This  Government  is 
perpetual :  provision  is  made  for  reforming  the 
Government  and  amending  the  Constitution,  and 
admitting  States  into  the  Union ;  not  for  letting 
them  out  of  it."  He  told  the  people,  whenever 
they  desired,  in  good  faith,  to  restore  civil 
authority,  they  could  do  so,  and  a  proclamation 
for  an  election  would  be  issued  as  speedily  as  it 
should  become  practicable  to  hold  one. 

The  provisional  government  created  by  the 
President  continued  throughout  the  year,  and  on 
the  26th  of  January,  1864,  Governor  Johnson 
issued  his  proclamation  for  a  State  election.  Up 
to  this  time  about  twenty-five  thousand  Union 


30  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

citizens  of  Tennessee  entered  the  army,  and 
several  colored  regiments  were  organized. 

The  country  will  remember  the  daring  im 
promptu  speech  in  the  United  States  Senate, 
which  Senator,  now  President  Johnson,  delivered 
in  immediate  reply  to  Jefferson  Davis,  when  the 
latter  took  his  farewell,  and  sought  to  demon 
strate  the  inability  of  our  Government  to  exe 
cute  its  properly  constituted  will  upon  the  people 
of  the  States.  Senator  Johnson  then  stood 
alone.  The  disunionists  had  resolved  to  adopt 
every  conceivable  method  known  to  them  for  the 
purpose  of  bending  the  inflexibility  of  his  reso 
lution  to  stand  by  the  Union  ;  but  when  they 
found  that  they  had  wholly  failed,  they  treated 
him  with  open  scorn  and  contempt.  Great  is  the 
change  since  that  scene  in  the  Senate  Chamber, 
when  Davis  was  boldly  confronted,  answered, 
and  denounced  by  the  Tennessee  senator ; — the 
former  incarcerated  within  the  walls  of  a  prison, 
awaiting  his  trial  for  treason,  while  Johnson  is 
to-day,  the  President  of  the  United  States.  It  is 
one  of  those  lessons  in  the  history  of  nations 
which  are  too  marked  to  be  forgotten. 

Two  notable  incidents  in  the  history  of  Andrew 
Johnson,  as  military  governor  of  Tennessee,  illus 
trative  of  indomitable  will  and  dauntless  courage, 

O      ' 

we  think  worthy  of  record. 

A  placard  was  posted  in  Nashville  one  morn 
ing,  announcing  that  Andy  Johnson  was  to  be 
shot  "  on  sight."  Friends  of  the  governor  as- 


BIOGKAPII1CAL    INTRODUCTION.  31 

sembled  at  his  house  to  escort  him  to  the  State 
House.  "  No,"  said  he,  "  gentlemen,  if  I  am  to 
be  shot  at,  I  want  no  man  to  be  in  the  way  of 
the  bullet."  He  walked  alone,  and  with  his  usual 
deliberation,  through  the  streets  to  his  official 
apartments  on  Capitol  Hill.  Another  similar 
story  is  related  : 

He  was  announced  to  speak  on  the  exciting 
questions  of  the  day,  and  loud  threats  were  ut 
tered  that,  if  he  dared  to  appear,  he  should  not 
leave  the  hall  alive.  At  the  appointed  hour  he 
ascended  the  platform,  and  advancing  to  the 
desk  laid  his  pistol  upon  it.  He  then  addressed 
the  audience,  it  is  said,  in  the  following  language : 
"  Fellow-citizens,  it  is  proper,  when  freemen 
assemble  for  the  discussion  of  important  public 
interests,  that  every  thing  should  be  done  decently 
and  in  order.  I  have  been  informed  that  part  of 
the  business  to  be  transacted  on  the  present  oc 
casion  is  the  assassination  of  the  individual  who 
now  has  the  honor  of  addressing  you.  I  beg 
respectfully  to  propose  this  be  the  first  business 
in  order.  Therefore,  if  any  man  has  come  here 
to-night  for  the  purpose  indicated,  I  do  not  say 
to  him,  let  him  speak,  but  let  him  shoot."  Here 
he  paused,  with  his  right  hand  on  his  pistol,  and 
the  other  holding  open  his  coat,  while  he  blandly 
survej^ed  the  assembly.  After  a  pause  of  half  a 
minute,  he  resumed :  "  Gentlemen,  it  appears 
that  I  have  been  misinformed.  I  will  now  pro 
ceed  to  address  you  on  the  subject  that  has  called 


?>'2  ANDREW    JU1LNSUX. 

us  together,"  which  ho  did  with  all  his  accus 
tomed  boldness  and  vivacity,  not  sparing  his 
adversaries,  but  giving  them  plenty  of  pure  Ten 
nessee. 

A  man  who  sets  out  in  a  political  career  with 
out  high  birth,  fortune,  political  influence,  or 
commercial  interest  at  his  back,  determined  not 
to  be  intimidated,  discouraged,  or  run  down  by 
any  party,  or  by  all  factions  in  Congress,  and 
triumphs  solely  by  his  intellectual  power  over  all 
impediments,  must  have  the  true  elements  of 
greatness  in  his  composition.  If  such  a  man 
lends  the  powers  that  are  in  him  for  objects  that 
are  only  noble,  generous,  grand,  and  good,  he 
will  be  faithful  to  himself,  and  likely  to  be  emi 
nently  useful  to  his  country.  Such  is  the  char 
acter  and  such  the  position  of  President  Johnson. 
Few  men  in  the  world  have  risen  to  greater  fame 
from  the  ranks  of  poverty  and  misfortune ;  and 
none  have  ever  worn  their  honors  with  a  more 
becoming  dignity,  or  with  greater  love  for  the 
sacred  principles  of  free  government* 


SERVICES  AND  SPEECHES. 


CHAPTEE  I. 

THE    CONSTITUTIONALITY  AND   RIGHTFULNESS  OP 
SECESSION. 

THE  purely  sectional  issue  upon  which  Abraham 
Lincoln,  in  November,  I860,  was  elected  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  though  in  accordance 
with  the  forms  of  the  Constitution,  yet  seemed 
to  a  large  majority  of  the  people  so  hostile  to  its 
spirit,  and  so  threatening  in  its  effect  upon  the 
peace  of  the  country,  that  "  it  produced  an  ex 
citement  in  the  nation,  and  especially  at  the 
South,  which  foreboded  all  that  was  fearful  and 
terrible  in  the  prospect  of  the  future."  To  allay 
this  excitement  so  far  as  possible,  and  prevent 
the  withdrawal  of  the  aggrieved  States  from  the 
Federal  Union,  all  true  patriots  labored  with 
heart  and  soul,  during  the  anxious  and  critical 
period  which  intervened  between  the  election  of 
Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  inauguration.  Among  these 
patriots  and  statesmen,  no  one  strove  with  a 


34:  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

more  earnest  and  indefatigable  zeal  to  avert  the 
dissolution  of  the  Union  and  the  horrors  of  civil 
war  than  Andrew  Jonnson.  He  supported  the 
famous  Crittenden  compromise,  in  the  hope  that 
its  adoption  might  promote  harmony  of  feeling 
and  quiet  the  rage  of  the  dark  and  fearful  storm. 
Born  in  a  slave  State,  a  representative,  a  govern 
or,  and  senator  from  a  slave  State,  his  love  for 
his  section  was  only  surpassed  by  his  attachment 
to  his  country.  Soaring  above  all  narrow  and 
local  prejudices,  he  could  truly  feel  and  express 
the  poet's  inspiring  sentiment : 

Who  would  sever  freedom's  slirine  ? 
Who  would  draw  the  invidious  line? 
Though  by  birth  one  spot  be  mine, 

Dear  is  all  the  rest. 
Dear  to  me  the  South's  fair  land, 
Dear  the  central  mountain  band, 
Dear  New  England's  rocky  strand, 

Dear  the  prairied  West. 

But  though  national  in  every  pulsation  of  his 
moral  being,  as  became  a  disciple  of  the  immor 
tal  Jackson,  no  one  defended  with  more  out 
spoken  boldness  the  rights  of  his  section,  or  de 
nounced  with  more  bitter  indignation  the  wicked 
and  treasonable  designs  of  Northern  abolitionism. 
He  repeatedly  deprecated  the  introduction  of  the 
slavery  question  into  the  congressional  debates, 
insisting  that  its  consideration  belonged  alone  to 
the  States  where  it  existed,  and  refused  even  the 
admission  of  petitions  in  relation  to  the  initiating 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  35 

subject.  In  December,  1859,  he  declared  the 
murderous  John  Brown  raid  upon  Harper's 
Ferry  to  be  the  natural  consequence  of  abolition 
doctrines,  and  permitted  no  opportunity  to  escape 
of  lashing  and  denouncing  the  advocates  of  a 
'*  higher  law"  than  that  of  the  Constitution.  He 
had,  however,  the  sagacity  to  see  that  the  best 
protection  for  Southern  rights  and  Southern 
property  was  beneath  the  folds  of  the  Federal 
flag  ;  that  the  surest  way  to  punish  the  Northern 
agitators  and  milliners  for  their  "  personal-liberty 
bills"  and  similar  insolent  encroachments,  was  to 
fight  them  inside  of  the  Union,  and  never  to  yield 
a  single  inch  of  the  joint  and  common  revolution 
ary  inheritance.  He  entreated  his  fellow-senators 
of  the  South  to  remain  in  their  places,  assuring 
them  that,  if  they  thus  remained  firm  and  un 
shaken,  Mr.  Lincoln  could  not  even  organize  his 
administration  unless  by  their  permission  ;  and 
much  less  could  he  or  his  party  do  any  direct 
injury  to  the  Southern  interests.  With  prophetic 
vision,  he  told  them  that  secession  would  be  the 
death  of  negro  slavery,  that  in  the  blast  of  a  sec 
tional  conflict  it  would  be  swept  away  with  the 
besom  of  destruction.  Alas  !  if  his  counsels  and 
warnings  had  been  heeded,  how  much  of  blood 
and  sorrow",  how  much  of  woe  and  desolation, 
would  have  been  spared  from  the  record  of  these 
last  sad  years ! 

These  opinions  of  Mr.  Johnson  are  given  at 
length,  and  with  signal  ability,  in  a  speech  de- 


36  ANDREW    JOIfXSUX. 

livered  in  the  Senate,  18th  and  19th  of  Decem 
ber,  1860,  the  question  being  the  joint  resolution 
introduced  by  him  the  13th  of  the  same  month, 
proposing  certain  constitutional  amendments. 
One  of  these  amendments  proposed  to  change 
the  mode  of  electing  the  President  and  Yice-Presi- 
dent  of  the  United  States  from  the  electoral  col- 
lego  to  a  vote  more  directly  by  the  suffrages  of 
the  people.  We  cannot  better  please  and  in 
struct  our  readers  than  by  placing  before  them 
some  extracts  from  this  admirable  and  remark 
able  speech.  He  said  : 

"  It  is  not  my  purpose,  sir,  to  discuss  these  prop 
ositions  to  amend  the  Constitution  in  detail  to-day, 
and  I  shall  say  but  little  more  in  reference  to  them, 
and  to  their  practical  operation  ;  but  as  we  are  now, 
as  it  were,  involved  in  revolution  (for  there  is  a 
revolution,  in  fact,  upon  the  country),  I  think  it 
behooves  every  man,  and  especially  every  one  occu 
pying  a  public  place,  to  indicate,  in  some  manner, 
his  opinions  and  sentiments  in  reference  to  the  ques 
tions  that  agitate  and  distract  the  public  mind.  I 
shall  be  frank  on  this  occasion  in  giving-  my  views 
•and  taking  my  position,  as  I  have  always  been  upon 
questions  that  involve  the  public  interest.  I  believe 
it  is  the  imperative  duty  of  Congress  to  make  some- 
effort  to  save  the  country  from  impending'  disso 
lution  ;  and  he  that  is  unwilling  to  make  an  effort 
to  preserve  the  Union,  or,  in  other  words,  to  preserve 
tho  Constitution,  and  the  Union  as  an  incident  result- 
in?;  from  the  preservation  of  the  Constitution,  is  nin- 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  37 

worthy  of  public   confidence,   and   the   respect    and 
gratitude  of  the  American  people. 

"  In  most  that  I  shall  say  on  this  occasion,  I  shall 
not  differ  very  essentially  from  my  Southern  friends. 
The  difference  will  consist  in  the  mode  and  manner 
by  which  this  great  end  is  to  be  accomplished.  Some 
of  our  Southern  friends  think  that  secession  is  the 
mode  by  which  these  ends  can  be  accomplished  ; 
that  if  the  Union  cannot  be  preserved  in  its  spirit,  by 
secession  they  will  get  those  rights  secured  and  per 
petuated  that  they  have  failed  to  obtain  within  the 
Union. 

"  I  am  opposed  to  secession.  I  believe  it  is  no 
remedy  for  the  evils  complained  of.  Instead  of  act 
ing  with  that  division  of  my  Southern  friends  who 
take  ground  for  secession,  I  shall  take  other  grounds 
while  I  try  to  accomplish  the  same  end.  I  think  that 
this  battle  ought  to  be  fought,  not  outside  but  inside 
of  the  Union,  and  upon  the  battlements  of  the  Con 
stitution  itself.  I  am  unwilling  voluntarily  to  walk 
out  of  the  Union,  which  has  been  the  result  of  a  Con 
stitution  made  by  the  patriots  of  the  Revolution. 
They  formed  the  Constitution  ;  and  this  Union  that  is 
so  much  spoken  of,  and  which  all  of  us  are  so  de 
sirous  to  preserve,  grows  out  of  the  Constitution  ; 
and  I  repeat,  I  am  not  willing  to  walk  out  of  a  Union 
growing  out  of  the  Constitution  that  was  formed  by 
the  patriots  and  soldiers  of  the  Revolution.  So  far 
as  I  am  concerned,  and  I  believe  I  may  speak  with 
some  degree  of  confidence  for  the  people  of  my  State, 
we  intend  to  fight  that  battle  inside  and  not  outside 
of  the  Union  ;  and  if  anybody  must  go  out  of  the 
Union,  it  must  be  those  who  violate  it,  We  do  not 


38  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

intend  to  go  out.  It  is  our  Constitution  ;  it  is  our 
Union,  growing  out  of  the  Constitution  ;  and  we  do 
not  intend  to  be  driven  from  it,  or  out  of  the  Union. 
Those  who  have  violated  the  Constitution,  cither  in 
the  passage  of  what  are  denominated  personal-liberty 
bills,  or  by  their  refusal  to  execute  the  fugitive-slave 
law,  they,  having  violated  the  instrument  that  binds 
us  together,  must  go  out,  and  not  we.  If  we  violate 
the  Constitution  by  going  out  ourselves,  I  do  not 
think  we  can  go  before  the  country  with  the  same 
force  of  opinion  that  we  shall  if  we  stand  inside  of 
the  Constitution,  demanding  a  compliance  with  its 
provisions  and  its  guaranties,  or,  if  need  be,  as  I 
think  it  is,  demanding  additional  securities.  We 
should  make  that  demand  inside  of  the  Constitution, 
and  in  the  manner  arid  mode  pointed  out  by  the  in 
strument  itself.  Then  we  keep  ourselves  in  the 
right  ;  we  put  our  adversary  in  the  wrong  ;  and 
though  it  may  take  a  little  longer,  we  take  the 
right  means  to  accomplish  an  end  that  is  right  in 
itself. 

"  I  know  that  sometimes  we  talk  about  compro 
mises.  I  am  not  a  compromiser  nor  a  conservative, 
in  the  usual  acceptation  of  those  terms.  I  have 
been  generally  considered  radical,  and  I  do  not  come 
forward  to-day,  in  any  thing  that  I  shall  say  or  pro 
pose,  asking  for  any  thing  to  be  done  upon  the  prin 
ciple  of  compromise.  If  we  ask  for  any  thing,  it 
should  be  for  that  which  is  right  and  reasonable  in 
itself.  If  it  be  right,  those  of  whom  we  ask  it,  upon 
the  grout  principle  of  right,  arc  bound  to  grant  it. 
Compromise  !  I  know,  in  the  common  acceptation  of 
the  term,  it  is  to  agree  upon  certain  propositions,  in 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  39 

which  some  things  are  conceded  on  one  side,  and 
others  conceded  on  the  other.  I  shall  go  for  enact 
ments  by  Congress,  or  for  amendments  to  the  Consti 
tution,  upon  the  principle  that  they  are  right,  and 
upon  no  other  ground.  I  am  not  for  compromising 
right  with  wrong.  If  we  have  no  right,  we  ought  not 
to  demand  it.  If  we  are  in  the  wrong,  they  should 
not  grant  us  what  we  ask.  I  approach  this  momen 
tous  subject  on  the  great  principles  of  right,  asking 
for  nothing  and  demanding  nothing  but  what  is  right 
in  itself,  and  what  every  right-minded  man,  and  a 
right-minded  community,  and  a  right-minded  people, 
who  wish  for  the  preservation  of  this  Government, 
will  be  disposed  to  grant. 

***** 
"  Sir,  if  the  doctrine  of  secession  is  to  be  carried  out 
upon  the  mere  whim  of  a  State,  this  Government  is 
at  an  end.  I  am  as  much  opposed  to  a  strong,  or 
what  may  be  called  by  some  a  consolidated  Govern 
ment,  as  it  is  possible  for  a  man  to  be  ;  but  while  I 
am  greatly  opposed  to  that,  I  want  a  Government 
strong  enough  to  preserve  its  own  existence  ;  that 
will  not  fall  to  pieces  by  its  own  weight,  or  whenever 
a  little  dissatisfaction  takes  place  in  one  of  its  mem 
bers.  If  the  States  have  a  right  to  secede  at  will 
and  pleasure,  for  real  or  imaginary  evils  or  oppres 
sions,  I  repeat  again,  this  Government  is  at  an  end  ; 
it  is  not  stronger  than  a  rope  of  sand  ;  its  own  weight 
will  crumble  it  to  pieces,  and  it  cannot  exist.  Not 
withstanding  this  doctrine  may  suit  some  who  are  en 
gaged  in  this  perilous  and  impending  crisis  that  is 
now  upon  us,  duty  to  my  country,  duty  to  my  State, 
and  duty  to  my  kind,  require  me  to  avow  a  doctrine 


40  ANDKKW    JOLINSUX. 

that  I  believe  will  result  in  the  preservation  of  the 
Government,  and  to  repudiate  one  that  I  believe  will 
result  in  its  overthrow,  and  the  consequent  disasters 
to  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

"  If  a  State  can  secede  at  will  and  pleasure,  and  this 
doctrine  is  maintained,  why,  I  ask,  on  the  other  hand, 
as  argued  by  Mr.  Madison  in  one  of  his  letters,  can- 
riot  a  majority  of  the  States  combine  and  reject  a 
State  out  of  the  Confederacy  ?  Have  a  majority  of 
these  States,  under  the  compact  that  they  have  made 
with  each  other,  the  right  to  combine  and  reject  any 
one  of  the  States  from  the  Confederacy  ?  They  have 
no  such  right ;  the  compact  is  reciprocal.  It  was 
ratified  without  reservation  or  condition,  and  it  was 
ratified  'in  toto  and  forever  ;'  such  is  the  language  of 
James  Madison  ;  and  there  is  but  one  way  to  get  out 
of  it  without  the  consent  of  the  parties,  and  that  is 

by  revolution. 

***** 

"  I  know  that  the  term,  to  '  coerce  a  State,'  is  used 
in  an  ad  captandum  manner.  It  is  a  sovereignty  that 
is  to  be  crushed  !  How  is  a  State  in  the  Union  ? 
What  is  her  connection  with  it?  All  the  connection 
she  has  with  the  other  States  is  that  which  is  agreed 
upon  in  the  compact  between  the  States.  I  do  not 
know  whether  you  may  consider  it  in  the  Union  or 
out  of  the  Union,  or  whether  3-011  simply  consider  it  a 
connection  or  a  disconnection  with  the  other  Stales  ; 
but  to  the  extent  that  a  State  nullifies  or  sets  aside 
an}-  law  or  any  provision  of  the  Constitution,  to  that 
extent  it  lias  dissolved  its  connection,  and  no  more. 
I  think  the  States  flint  have  passed  their  personal- 
liberty  bills,  in  violation  of  the  Constitution  of  the 


SERVICES   AND    SPEECHES.  41 

United  States,  coming'  in  contact  with  the  fugitive- 
slave  law,  to  that  extent  have  dissolved  their  connec 
tion,  and  to  that  extent  it  is  revolution.  But  because 
some  of  the  free  States  have  passed  laws  violative  of 
the  Constitution  ;  because  they  have,  to  some  extent, 
dissolved  their  connection  with  this  Government,  does 
that  justify  us  of  the  South  in  following-  that  bad  ex 
ample  ?  Because  they  have  passed  personal-liberty 
bills,  and  have,  to  that  extent,  violated  the  compact 
which  is  reciprocal,  shall  we  turn  round,  on  the  other 
hand,  and  violate  the  Constitution  by  coercing  them 
to  a  compliance  with  it  ?  Will  we  do  so  ? 

"  Then  -I  come  back  to  the  starting  point :  let  us 
stand  in  the  Union  and  upon  the  Constitution  ;  and 
if  anybody  is  to  leave  this  Union,  or  violate  its  guar 
anties,  it  shall  be  those  who  have  taken  the  initiative, 
and  passed  their  personal-liberty  bills.  I  am  in  the 
Union,  and  intend  to  stay  in  it.  I  intend  to  hold  on 
to  the  Union,  and  the  guaranties  under  which  this 
Union  has  grown  ;  and  I  do  not  intend  to  be  driven 
from  it,  nor  out  of  it,  by  their  unconstitutional  enact 
ments. 

"  Then,  Mr.  President,  suppose,  for  instance,  that  a 
fugitive  is  arrested  in  the  State  of  Vermont  to-mor 
row,  and  under  the  personal-liberty  bill  of  that  State, 
or  the  law — I  do  not  remember  its  precise  title  now — 
which  prevents,  or  is  intended  to  prevent,  the  faithful 
execution  of  the  fugitive-slave  law,  Vermont  under 
takes  to  rescue  him,  and  prevent  the  enforcement  of 
the  law  :  what  is  it?  It  is  nullification  ;  it  is  resist 
ance  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States  made  in  con 
formity  with  the  Constitution  ;  it  is  rebellion  ;  and  it 
is  the  duty  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  en- 


42  ANDKEW   JOHNSON. 

force  the  law,  at  all  hazards  and  to  the  last  extremity. 
And  if  the  Federal  Government  fails  or  refuses  to  exe 
cute  the  laws  made  in  conformity  with  the  Constitu 
tion,  and  those  States  persist  in  their  violation  and  let 
those  unconstitutional  acts  remain  upon  their  statute- 
books,  and  carry  them  into  practice  ;  if  the  Govern 
ment,  on  the  one  hand,  fails  to  execute  the  laws  of  the 
United  States,  and  those  States,  by  their  enactments, 
violate  them  on  the  other,  the  Government  is  at  an 

end,  and  the  parties  are  all  released  from  the  compact 

*  *  *  *  * 

"  I  think  it  will  be  determined  by  the  courts  and  by 
the  judgment  of  the  country,  that  the  acts  passed  in 
1850  and  1858  by  the  Legislature  of  Vermont  are  a 
violation,  a  gross,  palpable  violation  of  the  Constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States.  It  is  clear  and  conclusive 
to  my  mind,  that  a  State  passing  an  unconstitutional 
act,  intended  to  impede  or  to  prevent  the  execution 
of  a  law  passed  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
which  is  constitutional,  is  thereby  placed,  so  far  as 
the  initiative  is  concerned,  in  a  state  of  rebellion.  It 
is  an  open  act  of  nullification.  I  am  not  aware  that 
there  has  been  any  attempt  in  Vermont  to  wrest  any 
persons  out  of  the  hands  of  the  officers  of  the  United 
States,  or  to  imprison  or  to  fine  any  person  under  the 
operation  of  this  law  ;  but  the  passage  of  such  an 
act  is  to  initiate  rebellion.  I  think  it  comes  in  con 
flict  directly  with  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  Constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States,  and  to  that  extent  is  an 
act  of  nullification,  and  places  the  State  in  open  rebel 
lion  to  the  United  States. 

***** 

"  President  Washington  thought  there  was  power 


SERVICES    AND   SPEECHES.  43 

in  this  Government  to  execute  its  laws  ;  he  *con- 
sidered  the  militia  the  army  of  the  Constitution  ;  and 
he. refers  to  this  Union  as  being  inseparable.  This 
is  the  way  that  the  laws  were  executed  by  the  Father 
of  his  Country,  the  man  who  sat  as  president  of  the 
convention  that  made  the  Constitution.  Here  was 
resistance  interposed — opposition  to  the  execution  of 
the  laws  ;  and  George  Washington,  then  President 
of  the  United  States,  went  in  person  at  the  head  of 
the  militia  ;  and  it  showed  his  sagacity,  his  correct 
comprehension  of  men,  and  the  effect  that  an  imme 
diate  movement  of  that  kind  would  have  upon  them. 
He  ordered  fifteen  thousand  of  his  countrymen  to  the 
scene  of  action,  and  went  there  in  person,  and  stayed 
there  till  he  was  satisfied  that  the  insurrection  was 
quelled.  That  is  the  manner  in  which  George  Wash 
ington  put  down. rebellion.  That  is  the  manner  in 
which  he  executed  the  laws. 

"  Here,  then,  we  find  General  Washington  exe 
cuting  the  law,  in  1795,  against  a  portion  of  the 
citizens  of  Pennsylvania  who  rebelled  ;  and,  I  repeat 
the  question,  where  is  the  difference  between  exe 
cuting  the  law  upon  a  part  and  upon  the  whole? 
Suppose  the  whole  of  Pennsylvania  had  rebelled  and 
resisted  the  excise  law  ;  had  refused  to  pay  taxes  on 
distilleries  ;  was  it  not  as  competent  and  as  consti 
tutional  for  General  Washington  to  have  executed 
the  law  against  the  whole  as  against  a  part?  Is 
there  any  difference  ?  Governmental  affairs  must  be 
practical  as  well  as  our  own  domestic  affairs.  You 
may  make  nice  metaphysical  distinctions  between  the 
practical  operations  of  Government  and  its  theory ; 
you  may  refine  upon  what  is  a  State,  and  point  out 


44  ANDREW    JO  i  IN  SOX. 

a  difference  between  a  State  and  a  portion  of  a  State  ; 
but  what  is  it  when  you  reduce  it  to  practical  oper 
ation,  and  square  it  by  common  sense  ? 

"In  1832,  resistance  was  interposed  to  laws  of 
the  United  States  in  another  State.  An  ordinance 
was  passed  by  South  Carolina,  assuming'  to  act  as 
a  sovereign  State,  to  nullify  a  law  of  the  United 
States.  In  1833,  the  distinguished  man  who  filled 
the  executive  chair,  who  now  lies  in  his  silent  grave, 
loved  and  respected  for  his  virtue,  his  honor,  his  in- 
tegrit}r,  his  patriotism,  his  undoubted  courage,  and 
his  devotion  to  his  kind,  with  an  eye  single  to  the 
promotion  of  his  country's  best  interests,  issued  the 
proclamation,  extracts  from  which  I  have  already 
presented.  He  was  sworn  to  support  the  Constitu 
tion,  and  to  see  that  the  laws  were  faithfully  exe 
cuted  ;  and  he  fulfilled  the  obligation.  He  took  all 
the  steps  necessary  to  secure  the  execution  of  the 
law,  and  he  would  have  executed  it  by  the  power 
of  the  Government  if  the  point  of  time  had  arrived 
when  it  was  necessary  to  resort  to  that  power.  AVe 
can  see  that  he  acted  upon  principles  similar  to  those 
acted  upon  by  General  Washington.  He  took  the 
precaution  of  ordering  a  force  there  sufficient  for  the 
purpose  of  enabling  him  to  say  effectually  to  the  re 
bellious,  and  those  who  were  interposing  opposition 
to  the  execution  of  the  laws,  'The  laws  which  are 
made  according  to  the  Constitution,  the  laws  that 
provide  for  the  collection  of  the  revenue  to  sustain 
this  Government,  must  be  enforced,  and  the  revenue 
must  be  collected.  It  is  a  part  of  the  compact  ;  it 
is  a  part  of  the  engagement  you  have  undertaken  to 
perform,  and  you  of  your  own  will  have  no  power  or 


SERVICES   AND    SPEECHES.  45 

authority  to  set  it  aside.'  The  duties  were  collected  ; 
the  law  was  enforced  ;  and  the  Government  went  on. 
In  his  proclamation  he  made  a  powerful  appeal.  He 
told  them  what  would  be  done  ;  and  it  would  have 
been  done,  as  certain  as  God  rules  on  high,  if  the 
time  had  arrived  which  made  it  necessary. 

"  Then  we  see  where  General  Washing-ton  stood, 
and  where  General  Jackson  stood.  Now,  how  does 
the  present  case  stand  ?  The  time  has  come  when 
men  should  speak  out.  Duties  are  mine  ;  conse 
quences  are  God's.  I  intend  to  discharge  my  duty, 
and  I  intend  to  avow  my  understanding  of  the  Con 
stitution  and  the  laws  of  the  country.  Have  we  no 
authority  or  power  to  execute  the  laws  in  the  State 
of  South  Carolina  as  well  as  in  Vermont  and  Penn 
sylvania  ?  I  think  we  have.  As  1  before  said,  al 
though  a  State  may,  by  an  ordinance,  or  by  a  resolve, 
or  by  an  act  of  any  other  kind,  declare  that  they  ab 
solve  their  citizens  from  all  allegiance  to  this  Govern 
ment,  it  does  not  release  them  from  the  compact.  The 
compact  is  reciprocal ;  and  they,  in  coming  into  it, 
undertook  to  perform  certain  duties  and  abide  by  the 
laws  made  in  conformity  with  the  compact.  Now, 
sir,  what  is  the  Government  to  do  in  South  Carolina  ? 
If  South  Carolina  undertakes  to  drive  the  Federal 
courts  out  of  that  State,  the  Federal  Government  has 
the  right  to  hold  those  courts  there.  She  may  attempt 
to  exclude  the  mails,  yet  the  Federal  Government  has 
the  right  to  establish  post-offices  and  post-roads,  and 
to  carry  the  mails  there.  She  may  resist  the  collec 
tion  of  revenue  at  Charleston,  or  any  other  point  that 
the  Government  has  provided  for  its  collection  ;  but 
the  Government  has  the  right  to  collpct  it  and  to 


46  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

enforce  the  law.  She  may  undertake  to  take  posses 
sion  of  the  property  belonging1  to  the  Government, 
which  was  originally  ceded  by  the  State,  but  the 
Federal  Government  has  the  right  to  provide  the 
means  for  retaining  possession  of  that  property.  If 
she  makes  an  advance  cither  to  dispossess  the  Gov 
ernment  of  that  which  it  has  purchased,  or  to  resist 
the  execution  of  the  revenue  laws,  or  of  our  judicial 
system,  or  the  canning  of  the  mails,  or  the  exercise 
of  any  other  power  conferred  on  the  Federal  Govern 
ment,  she  puts  herself  in  the  wrong,  and  it  will  be 
the  duty  of  the  Government  to  see  that  the  laws  are 
faithfully  executed. 

*  #  *  #  *  # 

"  We  are  told  that  certain  States  will  go  out  and 
tear  this  accursed  Constitution  into  fragments,  and 
drag  the  pillars  of  this  mighty  edifice  down  upon  us, 
and  involve  us  all  in  one  common  ruin.  Will  the 
Border  States  submit  to  such  a  threat  ?  No.  But  if 
they  do  not  come  into  the  movement,  the  pillars  of 
this  stupendous  fabric  of  human  freedom  and  great 
ness  and  goodness  are  to  be  pulled  down,  and  all  will 
be  involved  in  one  common  ruin.  Such  is  the  threat 
ening  language  used.  '  You  shall  come  into  our  Con 
federacy,  or  we  will  coerce  you  to  the  emancipation 
of  your  slaves.'  That  is  the  language  which  is  held 
towards  us. 

"  There  are  many  ideas  afloat  about  this  threat 
ened  dissolution,  and  it  is  time  to  speak  out.  The 
question  arises,  in  reference  to  the  protection  and  pre 
servation  of  the  institution  of  slavery,  whether  dis 
solution  is  a  remedy,  or  will  give  to  it  protection.  I 
avow  here,  to-day,  that  if  I  were  an  Abolitionist,  and 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  47 

wanted  to  accomplish  the  overthrow  and  abolition  of 
the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  Southern  States,  the 
first  step  that  I  would  take  would  be  .to  break  the 
bonds  of  this  Union,  and  dissolve  this  Government. 
I  believe  the  continuance  of  slavery  depends  upon  the 
preservation  of  this  Union,  and  a  compliance  with 
all  the  guaranties  of  the  Constitution.  I  believe  an 
interference  with  it  will  break  up  the  Union  ;  and  I 
believe  a  dissolution  of  the  Union  will,  in  the  end, 
though  it  may  be  some  time  to  come,  overthrow  the 
institution  of  slavery.  Hence  we  find  so  many  in 
the  North  who  desire  the  dissolution  of  these  States, 
as  the  most  certain,  and  direct,  and  effectual  means 
of  overthrowing  the  institution  of  slavery. 

"  What  protection  would  it  be  to  us  to  dissolve 
this  Union  ?  What  protection  would  it  be  to  us  to 
convert  this  nation  into  two  hostile  powers,  the  one 
warring  with  the  other?  Whose  property  is  at 
stake  ?  Whose  interest  is  endangered  ?  Is  it  not 
the  property  of  the  border  States?  Suppose  Canada 
were  moved  down  upon  our  border,  and  the  two  sep 
arated  sections,  then  different  nations,  were  hostile  : 
what  would  the  institution  of  slavery  be  worth  on 
the  border?  Every  man  who  has  common  sense  will 
see  that  the  institution  would  take  up  its  march  and 
retreat,  as  certainly  and  as  unerringly  as  general 
laws  can  operate.  Yes  ;  it  would  commence  to  re 
treat  the  very  moment  this  Union  was  divided  into 
two  hostile  powers,  and  you  made  the  line  between 
the  slaveholding  and  non-slaveholding  States  the  line 
of  division. 

"  Then,  what  remedy  do  we  get  for  the  institution 
of  slavery  ?  Must  we  keep  up  a  standing  army  ? 


48  ANDREW    JOHNSUX. 

Must  we  keep  up  forts  bristling  with  arms  along  the 
whole  border  ?  This  is  a  question  to  be  considered, 
one  that  involves  the  future  ;  and  no  step  should  be 
taken  without  mature  reflection.  Before  this  Union 
is  dissolved  and  broken  up,  we  in  Tennessee,  as  one 
of  the  Slave  States,  want  to  be  consulted  ;  we  want 
to  know  what  protection  we  are  to  have  ;  whether 
we  are  simply  to  be  made  outposts  and  guards  to 
protect  the  property  of  others,  at  the  same  time  that 
we  sacrifice  and  lose  our  own.  We  want  to  under 
stand  this  question. 

"  Again  :  if  there  is  one  division  of  the  States,  will 
there  not  be  more  than  one  ?  I  heard  a  senator  say, 
the  other  day,  that  he  would  rather  see  this  Govern 
ment  separated  into  thirty-three  fractional  parts  than 
to  see  it  consolidated  ;  but  when  you  once  begin  to 
divide,  when  the  first  division  is  made,  who  can  tell 
when  the  next  will  be  made  ?  When  these  States  are 
all  turned  loose,  and  a  different  condition  of  things  is 
presented,  with  complex  and  abstruse  interests  to  be 
considered,  and  weighed,  and  understood,  what  com 
binations  may  take  place  no  one  can  tell.  I  am  op 
posed  to  the  consolidation  of  government,  and  I  am 
as  much  for  the  reserved  rights  of  States  as  any  one  ; 
but,  rather  than  see  this  Union  divided  into  thirty- 
three  petty  governments,  with  a  little  prince  in  one, 
a  potentate  in  another,  a  little  aristocracy  in  a  third, 
a  little  democracy  in  a  fourth,  and  a  republic  some 
where  else  ;  a  citizen  not  being  able  to  pass  from  one 
State  to  another  without  a  passport  or  a  commission 
from  his  government  ;  with  quarrelling  and  warring 
amongst  the  little  petty  powers,  which  would  result 
in  anarchy  ;  1  would  rather  see  this  Government  to- 


SERVICES   AXD    SPEECHES.  49 

day — I  proclaim  it  here  in  my  place — converted  into 
a  consolidated  government.  It  would  be  better  for 
the  American  people  ;  it  would  be  better  for  our 
kind  ;  it  would  be  better  for  humanity  ;  better  for 
Christianity  ;  better  for  all  that  tends  to  elevate  and 
ennoble  man,  than  breaking  up  this  splendid,  this 
magnificent,  this  stupendous  fabric  of  human  govern 
ment,  the  most  perfect  that  the  world  ever  saw,  and 
which  has  succeeded  thus  far  without  a  parallel  in 
the  history  of  the  world. 

****** 

"  I  throw  these  out  as  considerations.  There  will 
be  various  projects  and  various  combinations  made. 
Memphis  is  now  connected  with  Norfolk,  in  the  Old 
Dominion ;  Memphis  is  connected  with  Baltimore 
within  two  days.  Here  is  a  coast  that  lets  us  out  to 
the  commerce  of  the  world.  When  we  look  around 
in  the  four  States  of  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Virginia, 
and  Maryland,  there  are  things  about  which  our  mem 
ories,  our  attachments,  and  our  associations  linger 
with  pride  and  pleasure.  Go  down  into  the  Old  Do 
minion  ;  there  is  the  place  where,  in  It 81,  Cornwallis 
surrendered  his  sword  to  the  immortal  Washington. 
In  the  bosom  of  her  soil  are  deposited  her  greatest 
and  best  sons.  Move  along  in  that  trail,  and  there 
we  find  Jefferson,  and  Madison,  and  Monroe,  and  a 
long  list  of  worthies. 

"  We  come  next  to  old  North  Carolina,  my  native 
State,  God  bless  her  1  She  is  my  mother.  Though 
she  was  not  my  cherishing  mother,  to  use  the  lan 
guage  of  the  classics,  she  is  the  mother  whom  I  love, 
and  I  cling  to  her  with  undying  affection,  as  a  son 
should  cling  to  an  affectionate  mother.  We  find 
3  ' 


50  ANUIIEW    JOHNSON. 

Macon,  who  was  associated  with  our  parly  history  ^ 
deposited  in  her  soil.  Go  to  Kind's  Mi  unit  a  in,  on  her 
borders,  and  you  there  iind  the  place  on  which  the 
battle  was  fought  that  turned  the  tide  of  the  Revolu 
tion.  Yes,  within  her  borders  the  signal  battle  was 
fought  that  turned  the  tide  which  resulted  in  the  sur 
render  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktovvn,  in  the  Old  Domin 
ion. 

"  Travel  on  a  little  further,  and  we  get  back  to  Ten 
nessee.  I  shall  be  as  modest  as  I  can  in  reference  to 
her,  but  she  has  some  associations  that  make  her  dear 
to  the  people  of  the  United  States.  In  Tennessee  we 
have  our  own  illustrious  Jackson.  There  he  sleeps 
— that  Jackson  who  issued  his  proclamation  in  1833, 
and  saved  this  Government.  \Ve  have  our  Polk  and 
our  Grundy,  and  a  long  list  of  others  who  are  worthy 
of  remembrance. 

"  And  who  lie  in  Kentucky  ?  Your  Ilardings,  your 
Boones,  your  Roanes,  your  Clays,  are  among  the 
dead  ;  your  CRITTEXDEX  among  the  living.  All  are 
identified,  and  associated  with  the  history  of  the 
country. 

"  Maryland  has  her  Carroll  of  Carrollton,  and  a 
long  list  of  worthies,  who  are  embalmed  in  the  hearts 
of  the  American  people.  And  you  are  talking  about 
breaking  up  this  Republic,  with  this  cluster  of  asso 
ciations,  these  ties  of  affection,  around  you.  May  we 
not  expect  that  some  means  may  be  devised  by  which 
it  can  be  held  together  ? 

"  Here,  too,  in  the  centre  of  the  Republic,  is  the 
seat  of  government,  which  was  founded  by  Wash 
ington,  and  bears  his  immortal  name.  Who  dare  ap 
propriate  it  exclusively  ?  It  is  within  the  borders  of 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  51 

the  States  I  have  enumerated,  in  whose  limits  are 
found  the  graves  of  Washington,  of  Jackson,  of  Polk, 
of  Clay.  From  them  is  it  supposed  that  we  will  be 
torn  away  ?  No,  sir  ;  we  will  cherish  these  endearing 
associations  with  the  hope,  if  this  Republic  shall  be 
broken,  that  we  may  speak  words  of  peace  and  recon 
ciliation  to  a  distracted,  a  divided,  I  may  add,  a  mad 
dened  people.  Angry  waves  may  be  lashed  into  fury 
on  the  one  hand  ;  on  the  other  blustering  winds  may 
rage  ;  but  we  stand  immovable  upon  our  basis,  as  on 
our  own  native  mountains — presenting  their  craggy 
brows,  their  unexplored  caverns,  their  summits  '  rock- 
ribbed,  and  ancient  as  the  sun/ — we  stand  speaking 
peace,  association,  and  concert  to  a  distracted  Re 
public. 

"  But,  Mr.  President,  will  it  not  be  well,  before  we 
break  up  this  great  Government,  to  inquire  what  kind 
of  a  government  this  new  government  in  the  South  is 
to  be,  with  which  we  are  threatened  unless  we  involve 
our  destinies  with  this  rash  and  precipitate  move 
ment  ?  What  intimation  is  there  in  reference  to  its 
character  ?  Before  my  State  and  those  States  of 
which  I  have  been  speaking,  go  into  a  Southern  or 
Northern  confederacy,  ought  they  not  to  have  some 
idea  of  the  kind  of  government  that  is  to  be  formed  ? 
What  are  the  intimations  in  the  South  in  reference  to 
the  formation  of  a  new  government  ?  The  language 
of  some  speakers  is,  that  they  want  a  Southern  gov 
ernment  obliterating  all  State  lines — a  government  of 
consolidation.  It  is  alarming  and  distressing  to  en 
tertain  the  proposition  here.  What  ruin  and  disaster 
would  follow,  if  we  are  to  have  a  consolidated  gov 
ernment  here  !  But  the  idea  is  afloat  and  current  in 


52  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

the  South  that  a  Southern  government  is  to  be  estab 
lished,  in  the  language  of, some  of  the  speakers  in  the 
State  of  Georgia,  'obliterating  all  State  lines.'  Is 
that  the  kind  of  entertainment  to  which  the  people  are 
to  be  invited  ?  Is  that  the  kind  of  government  under 
which  we  are  to  pass  ;  and  are  we  to  be  forced  to 
emancipate  our  slaves  unless  we  go  into  it  ?  Another 
suggestion  in  reference  to  a  Southern  government  is, 
that  we  shall  have  a  Southern  Confederacy  of  great 
strength  and  power,  with  a  constitutional  provision 
preventing  any  State  from  changing  its  domestic  in 
stitutions  without  the  consent  of  three-fourths,  or  some 
great  number  to  be  fixed  upon.  Is  that  the  kind  of 
government  under  which  we  want  to  pass  ?  I  avow 
here,  that,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  will  never  enter, 
witn  my  consent,  any  government,  North  or  South, 
less  republican,  less  democratic,  than  the  one  under 
which  we  now  live. 

***** 
"  If  there  are  grievances,  why  cannot  we  all  go  to 
gether,  and  write  them  down,  and  point  them  out  to 
our  Northern  friends,  after  we  have  agreed  on  what 
those  grievances  are,  and  say  :  '  Here  is  what  we  de 
mand  ;  here  our  wrongs  are  enumerated  ;  upon  these 
terms  we  have  agreed  ;  and  now,  after  we  have  given 
yon  a  Reasonable  time  to  consider  these  additional 
guaranties  in  order  to  protect  ourselves  against  these 
wrongs,  if  you  refuse  them,  then,  having  made  an 
honorable  effort,  having  exhausted  all  other  means, 
we  may  declare  the  association  to  be  broken  up,  and 
we  may  go  into  an  act  of  revolution.'  We  can  then 
say  to  them  :  '  You  have  refused  to  give  us  guaran 
ties  that  we  think  are  needed  for  the  protection  of 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  53 

our  institutions  and  for  the  protection  of  our  other 
interests.'  When  they  do  this,  I  will  go  as  far  as  he 
who  goes  the  furthest. 

"  I  tell  them  here  to-day,  if  they  do  not  do  it,  Ten 
nessee  will  be  found  standing-  as  firm  and  unyielding 
in  her  demands  for  those  guaranties,  in  the  way  a 
State  should  stand,  as  any  other  State  in  this  Con 
federacy.  She  is  not  quite  so  belligerent  now.  She 
is  not  making  quite  so  much  noise.  She  is  not  as 
blustering  as  Sempronius  was"  in  the  council  in  Addi- 
son's  play  of  '  Cato/  who  declared  that  his  '  voice 
was  still  for  war.'  There  was  another  character 
there,  Lucius,  who  was  called  upon  to  state  what  his 
opinions  were  ;  and  he  replied  that  he  must  confess 
his  thoughts  were  turned  on  peace  ;  but  when  the 
extremity  came,  Lucius,  who  was  deliberative,  who 
was  calm,  and  whose  thoughts  were  upon  peace,  was 
found  true  to  the  interests  of  his  country.  He  proved 
himself  to  be  a  man  and  a  soldier  ;  while  the  other 
was  a  traitor  and,  a  coward.  We  will  do  our  duty  ; 
we  will  stand  upon  principle,  and  defend  it  to  the  last 
extremity. 

"  We  do  not  think,  though,  that  we  have  just  cause 
for  going  out  of  the  Union  now.  We  have  just  cause 
of  complaint  ;  but  we  are  for  remaining  in  the  Union, 
and  fighting  the  battle  like  men.  We  do  not  intend 
to'  be  cowardly,  and  turn  our  backs  on  our  own 
camps.  We  intend  to  stay  and  fight  the  battle  here 
upon  this  consecrated  ground.  Why  should  we  re 
treat  ?  Because  Mr.  Lincoln  has  been  elected  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  ?  Is  this  any  cause  why 
we  should  retreat  ?  Does  not  every  man,  senator  or 
otherwise,  know,  that  if  Mr.  Breckinridge  had  been 


54:  ANDREW    .JOHN SOX. 

elected  we  should  not  be  to-day  for  dissolving1  the 
Union  ?  Then  what  is  the  issue  ?  It  is  because  we 
have  not  got  our  man.  If  we  had  got  onr  man,  we 
should  not  have  been  for  breaking1  up  the  Union  ;  but 
as  Mr.  Lincoln  is  elected,  we  are  for  breaking1  up  the 
Union  !  I  say  no.  Let  us  show  ourselves  men,  and 
men  of  courage. 

"  How  has  Mr.  Lincoln  been  elected,  and  how  IKIVC 
Mr.  Breckinridge  and  Mr.  Douglas  been  defeated  ? 
By  the  votes  of  the  American  people,  cast  according 
to  the  Constitution  and  the  forms  of  law,  though  it 
has  been  upon  a  sectional  issue.  It  is  not  the  first 
time  in  our  history  that  two  candidates  have  been 
elected  from  the  same  section  of  country.  General 
Jackson  and  Mr.  Calhoun  were  elected  on  the  same 
ticket  ;  but  nobody  considered  that  cause  of  dissolu 
tion.  They  were  from  the  South.  I  oppose  the  sec 
tional  spirit  that  has  produced  the  election  of  Lincoln 
and  Ilamlin,  yet  it  has  been  done  according*  to  the 
Constitution  and  according  to  the*iorms  of  law.  I 
believe  we  have  the  powrer  in  our  own  hands,  and  I 
am  not  willing  to  shrink  from  the  responsibility  of 
exercising  that  power. 

"  How  has  Lincoln  been  elected,  and  upon  what 
basis  docs  he  stand  ?  A  minority  President  by 
nearly  a  million  votes  ;  but  had  the  election  taken 
place  upon  the  plan  proposed  in  my  amendment  of 
the  Constitution,  by  districts,  he  would  have  been 
this  day  defeated.  But  it  has  been  done  according 
to  the  Constitution  and  according  to  law.  I  am  for 
abiding  by  the  Constitution  ;  and  in  abiding  by  it  I 
want  to  maintain  and  retain  my  place  here,  and  put 
down  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  drive  back  his  advances  upon 


SERVICES  AND   SPEECHES.  55 

Southern  institutions,  if  he  designs  to  make  any. 
Have  we  not  got  the  brakes  in  our  hands  ?  Have 
we  not  got  the  power  ?  We  have.  Let  South  Caro 
lina  send  her  senators  back  ;  let  all  the  senators 
come ;  and  on  the  fourth  of  March  next  we  shall 
have  a  majority  of  six  in  this  body  against  him. 
This  successful  sectional  candidate,  who  is  in  a  mi 
nority  of  a  million,  or  nearly  so,  on  the  popular  vote, 
cannot  make  his  Cabinet  on  the  fourth  of  March  next, 
unless  the  Senate  will  permit  him. 

"Am  I  to  be  so  great  a  coward  as  to  retreat  from 
duty?  I  will  stand  here  and  meet  the  encroach 
ments  upon  the  institutions  of  my  country  at  the 
threshold  ;  and  as  a  man,  as  one  that  loves  my  coun 
try  and  my  constituents,  I  will  stand  here  and  resist 
all  encroachments  and  advances.  Here  is  the  place 
to  stand.  Shall  I  desert  the  citadel,  and  let  the  en 
emy  come  in  and  take  possession  ?  No.  Can  Mr. 
Lincoln  send  a  foreign  minister,  or  even  a  consul, 
abroad,  unless  he  receives  the  sanction  of  the  Senate? 
Can  he  appoint  a  postmaster  whose  salary  is  over  a 
thousand  dollars  a  year  without  the  consent  of  the 
Senate  ?  Shall  we  desert  our  posts,  shrink  from  our 
responsibilities,  and  permit  Mr,  Lincoln  to  come  with 
his  cohorts,  as  we  consider  them,  from  the  North,  to 
carry  off  every  thing  ?  Are  we  so  cowardly  that 
now  that  we  are  defeated,  not  conquered,  we  shall 
do  this  ?  Yes,  we  are  defeated  according  to  the 
forms  of  law  and  the  Constitution ;  but  the  real  vic 
tory  is  ours — the  moral  force  is  with  us.  Are  we 
going  to  desert  that  noble  and  that  patriotic  band 
who  have  stood  by  us  at  the  North,  who  have  stood 
by  us  upon  principle,  and  upon  the  Constitution  ? 


50  A.NDKEW    JOIIXriON. 

They  stood  by  us,  and  fought  the  buttle  upon  prin 
ciple  ;  and  now  that  we  have  been  defeated,  not  con 
quered,  are  we  to  turn  our  backs  upon  them  and 
leave  them  to  their  fate  ?  I,  for  one,  will  not.  I  in 
tend  to  stand  by  them.  How  many  votes  did  we  get 
in  the  North  ?  We  "got  more  votes  in  the  North 
against  Lincoln  than  the  entire  Southern  States  cast. 
Are  they  not  able  and  faithful  allies  ?  They  are  ; 
and  now,  on  account  of  this  temporary  defeat,  are 
we  to  turn  our  backs  upon  them  and  leave  them  to 
their  fate  ? 

"We  find,  when  all  the  North  is  summed  up,  that 
Mr.  Lincoln's  majority  there  is  only  about  two  hun 
dred  thousand  on  the  popular  vote  ;  and  when  that 
is  added  to  the  other  vote  cast  throughout  the  Union, 
he  stands  to-day  in  a  minority  of  nearly  a  million 
votes.  What,  then,  is  necessary  to  be  done  ?  To 
stand  to  our  posts  like  men,  and  act  upon  principle  ; 
stand  for  the  country  ;  and  in  four  years  from  this 
day,  Lincoln  and  his  administration  will  be  turned 
out — the  worst-defeated  and  broken-down  party  that 
ever  came  into  power.  It  is  an  inevitable  result 
from  the  combination  of  elements  that  now  exist. 
What  cause,  then,  is  there  to  break  up  the  Union  ? 
What  reason  is  there  for  deserting  our  posts,  and  de 
stroying  this  greatest  and  best  government  that  was 
ever  spoken  into  existence  ? 

"  I  voted  against  him  ;  I  spoke  against  him  j  I  spent, 
my  money  to  defeat  him  ; — but  still  I  love  my  coun 
try  ;  I  love  the  Constitution  ;  I  intend  to  insist  upon 
its  guaranties.  There,  and  there  alone,  I  intend  to 
plant  myself,  with  the  confident  hope  and  belief  that 
if  the  Union  remains  together,  in  less  than  four  years 


SERVICES   AND    SPEECHES.  57 

the  now  triumphant  party  will  be  overthrown.  In 
less  time,  I  have  the  hope  and  belief  that  we  shall 
unite  and  agree  upon  our  grievances  here  and  de 
mand  their  redress,  not  as  suppliants  at  the  footstool 
of  power,  but  as  parties  to  a  great  compact ;  we  shall 
say  that  we  want  additional^guaranties,  and  that 
they  are  necessary  to  the  preservation  of  this  Union  ; 
and  then,  when  they  are  refused  deliberately  and 
calmly,  if  we  cannot  do  better,  let  the  South  go  to 
gether,  and  let  the  North  go  together,  and  let  us 
have  a  division  of  this  Government  without  the  shed 
ding  of  blood,  if  such  a  thing  be  possible  ;  let  us 
have  a  division  of  the  property  ;  let  us  have  a  divi 
sion  of  the  navy  ;  let  us  have  a  division  of  the  army, 
and  of  the  public  lands.  Let  it  be  done  in  peace,  and 
in  a  spirit  that  should  characterize  arid  distinguish 
this  people.  I  believe  we  can  obtain  all  our  guaran 
ties.  I  believe  there  is  too  much  good  sense,  too 
much  intelligence,  too  much  patriotism,  too  much 
capability,  too  much  virtue,  in  the  great  mass  of  peo 
ple  to  permit  this  Government  to  be  overthrown. 

"  I  have  an  abiding  faith,  I  have  an  unshaken  con 
fidence,  in  man's  capability  to  govern  himself.  I  will 
not  give  up  this  Government  that  is  now  called  an 
experiment,  which  some  are  prepared  to  abandon  for 
a  constitutional  monarchy.  No  ;  I  intend  to  stand 
by  it,  and  I  entreat  every  man  throughout  the  nation 
who  is  a  patriot,  and  who  has  seen,  and  is  compelled 
to  admit,  the  success  of  this  great  experiment,  to 
come  forward,  not  in  heat,  not  in  fanaticism,  not  in 
haste,  not  in  precipitancy,  but  in  deliberation,  in  full 
view  of  all  that  is  before  us,  in  the  spirit  of  brotherly 
love  and  fraternal  affection,  and  rally  around  the 


58  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

altar  of  our  common  country,  and  lay  the  Constitution 
upon  it  as  our  last  libation,  and  swear  by  our  God, 
and  all  that  is  sacred  and  holy,  that  the  Constitution 
shall  be  saved  and  the  Union  preserved.  Yes,  in  the 
language  of  the  departed  Jackson,  let  us  exclaim 
that  the  Union,  '  theflFederal  Union,  it  must  be  pre 
served.' 

"  Are  we  likely,  when  we  get  to  ourselves,  North 
and  South,  to  sink  into  brotherly  love  ?  Are  we 
likely  to  be  as  harmonious  in  that  condition  as  some 
suppose  ?  I  am  sometimes  impressed  with  the  force 
of  Mr.  Jefferson's  remark,  that  we  may  as  well  keep 
the  North  to  quarrel  with  ;  for  if  we  have  no  North 
to  quarrel  with,  we  shall  quarrel  among  ourselves. 
We  are  a  sort  of  quarrelsome,  pugnacious  people  ; 
and  if  we  cannot  get  a  quarrel  from  one  quarter,  we 
shall  have  it  from  another  ;  and  I  would  rather  quar 
rel  a  little  now  with  the  North  than  be  quarrelling 
with  ourselves.  What  did  a  senator  say  here  in  the 
American  Senate,  only  a  few  days  ago,  because  the 
governor  of  a  Southern  State  was  refusing  to  con 
vene  the  Legislature  to  hasten  this  movement  that 
was  going  on  throughout  the  South,  and  because  he 
objected  to  that  course  of  conduct?  The  question 
was  asked,  if  there  was  not  some  Texan  Brutus  that 
would  rise  up  and  rid  the  country  of  the  hoary-headed 
traitor  !  This  is  the  language  that  a  senator  used. 
This  is  the  way  we  begin  to  speak  of  Southern  gov 
ernors.  Yes  ;  to  remove  an  obstacle  in  our  way,  we 
must  have  a  modern  Brutus,  who  will  go  to  the  capital 
of  a  State  and  assassinate  a  governor  to  accelerate 
the  movement.  If  we  are  so  unscrupulous  in  refer 
ence  to  ourselves,  and  in  reference  to  the  means  we 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  59 

are  willing  to  employ  to  consummate  this  dissolution, 
then  it  does  riot  look  very  much  like  harmony  among 
ourselves  after  we  get  out  of  it. 

"Mr.  President,  I  have  said  much  more  than  I  antici 
pated  when  I  commenced,  and  I  have  spoken  more 
at  length  than  a  regard  for  my  own  health  and 
strength  would  have  allowed  ;  but  if  there  is  any 
effort  of  mine  that  would  preserve  this  Government 
till  there  is  time  to  think,  till  there  is  time  to  con 
sider,  even  if  it  cannot  be  preserved  any  longer  ;  if 
that  end  could  be  secured  by  making  a  sacrifice  of 
my  existence  and  offering  up  my  blood,  I  would  be 
willing  to  consent  to  it.  Let  us  pause  in  this  mad 
career;  let  us  hesitate.  Let  us  consider  well  what  we 
are  doing  before  we  make  a  movement,  I  believe 
that,  to  a  certain  extent,  dissolution  is  going  to  take 
place.  I  say  to  the  North,  you  ought  to  come  up  in 
the  spirit  which  should  characterize  and  control  the 
North  on  this  question;  and  you  ought  to  give  those 
indications  of  good  faith  that  will  approach  what  the 
South  demands.  It  will  be  no  sacrifice  on  your  part. 
It  is  no  suppliancy  on  ours,  but  simply  a  demand  of 
right.  What  concession  is  there  in  doing  right? 
Then,  come  forward.  We  have  it  in  our  power — yes, 
this'  Congress  here  to-day  has  it  in  its  power  to  save 
this  Union,  even  after  South  Carolina  has  gone  out. 
Will  they  not  do  it  ?  You  can  do  it.  Who  is  willing 
to  take  the  dreadful  alternative  without  making  an 
honorable  effort  to  save  this  Government  ?  This 
Congress  has  it  in  its  power  to-day  to  arrest  this 
thing,  at  least  for  a  season,  until  there  is  time  to  con 
sider  about  it,  until  we  can  act  discreetly  and  pru 
dently,  and  I  believe  arrest  it  altogether. 


60  AXDRKW    JOHXHON. 

"  Shall  we  give  all  this  up  to  the  Vandals  and  the 
Goths  ?  Shall  we  shrink  from  our  duty,  and  desert 
the  Government  as  a  sinking'  ship,  or  shall  we  stand 
by  it?  I,  for  one,  will  stand  here  until  the  high  be 
hest  of  my  constituents  demands  of  me  to  desert  my 
post ;  and  instead  of  laying  hold  of  the  columns  of 
this  fabric  and  pulling  it  down,  though  I  may  not  bo 
much  of  a  prop,  I  will  stand  with  my  shoulder  sup 
porting  the  edifice  as  long  as  human  effort  can  do  it. 

"  In  saying  what  I  have  said  on  this  occasion,  Mr. 
President,  I  have  had  in  view  the  duty  that  I  owe  to 
my  constituents,  to  my  children,  to  myself.  Without 
regard  to  consequences,  I  have  taken  my  position ; 
and  when  the  tug  comes,  when  Greek  shall  meet 
Greek,  and  our  rights  are  refused  after  all  honorable 
means  have  been  exhausted,  then  it  is  that  I  will 
perish  in  the  last  breach  ;  yes,  in  the  language  of  the 
patriot  Emmet,  '  I  will  dispute  every  inch  of  ground; 
I  will  burn  every  blade  of  grass  ;  and  the  last  in- 
trenchment  of  Freedom  shall  be  my  grave.'  Then, 
let  us  stand  by  the  Constitution  ;  and  in  preserving 
the  Constitution  we  shall  save  the  Union;  and  in 
saving  the  Union,  we  save  this  the  greatest  Govern 
ment  on  earth," 


SEKVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  61 


CHAPTEE  II. 

THE    HOMESTEAD    BILL. 

THE  great  triumph  of  President  Johnson's  con 
gressional  career  is  his  advocacy  and  ultimately 
successful  championship  of  the  famous  Home 
stead  Bill.  Thoughtful  men  had  for  years  seen 
the  evil  and  condemned  the  policy  of  selling  the 
public  domain  in  large  sections  to  speculators 
and  monopolists,  who  merely  held  them  for  their 
private  and  selfish  gains.  This  feeling  eventu 
ated  in  the  formation  of  the  Land  Eeform  Asso 
ciation,  whose  headquarters  were  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  with  branches  in  various  portions  of 
-the  country.  This  society,  whose  organ  was  a 
very  ably  conducted  weekly  paper,  called  Young 
America,  endeavored  to  enlighten  the  public 
mind,  and  arouse  the  popular  sentiment  in  rela 
tion  to  the  curse  of  land  monopoly,  and  to  point 
out  an  easy  and  beneficent  cure  for  the  great  and 
growing  evil.  The  plan  recommended  was  to 
donate  the  public  lands  to  actual  settlers  in 
limited  quantities,  upon  condition  of  real  resi 
dence,  improvement,  and  cultivation.  This  sys 
tem,  argued  its  advocates,  would  promote  the 


2  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

growth  of  a  landed  democracy,  founded  upon  the 
possession  and  improvement  of  a  homestead,  and 
forming  the  firmest  support  of  a  free  government, 
and  the  surest  base  of  republican  institutions. 

Documents  and  papers  urging  this  great  and 
patriotic  policy  upon  public  consideration  were 
forwarded  to  all  members  of  the  Federal  Con 
gress,  but  upon  no  one  did  it  make  the  impres 
sion  produced  upon  the  clear  intellect,  far-seeing 
statesmanship,  and  purely  Democratic  proclivi 
ties  of  Andrew  Johnson.  He  immediately  made 
himself  its  especial  champion,  and  fighting  its 
battle  with  characteristic  courage,  perseverance, 
and  ability,  against  great  and  bitter  opposition, 
he  finally,  after  a  struggle  of  twelve  long  years, 
earned  it  through  in  triumph,  and  it  is  to-day 
diffusing  its  blessings  over  the  roofs  and  hearth 
stones  of  thousands  of  contented  and  happy 
families. 

The  speech  of  President  Johnson  upon  the 
Homestead  Bill,  delivered  in  the  Senate,  May 
20th,  1858,  is  so  full  of  elevated  statesmanship, 
and  so  clear  and  powerful  an  exposition  of  the 
entire  merits  of  the  question,  that  we  give  it  to 
our  readers  entire,  for  no  abstract  or  analysis 
can  be  made  of  its  arguments  and  illustrations, 
without  failing  in  justice  to  its  compact  and 
forcible  arrangement. 

"  MR.  PRESIDENT — The  immediate  proposition  be 
fore  the  Senate  is  an  amendment  offered  by  the  lion- 


SEKVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  63 

orable  senator  from  North  Carolina,*  which  provides 
that  there  shall  be  a  land-warrant  issued  to  each 
head  of  a  family,  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and 
distributed  among  those  who  do  not  emigrate  to  the 
public  domain,  and  take  possession  of  and  cultivate 
the  land  for  the  term  of  years  specified  in  the  bill.  I 
have  something  to  say  in  reference  to  that  amend 
ment,  but  I  will  not  say  it  in  this  connection.  I  will 
take  it  up  in  its  order.  I  propose,  in  the  first  place, 
to  explain  briefly  the  provisions  of  the  bill. 

"  The  first  section  provides  for  granting  one  hun 
dred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  to  every  head  of  a  family 
who  will  emigrate  to  any  of  the  public  domain  and 
settle  upon  it,  and  cultivate  it  for  a  term  of  five  years. 
Upon  those  fa^ts  being  made  known  to  the  register  of 
the  land-office,  the  emigrant  is  to  be  entitled  to  obtain 
a  patent.  The  second  section  provides  that  he  shall 
make  an  affidavit,  and  show  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
officer  that  his  entry  is  made  in  good  faith,  and  that 
his  intention  is  to  cultivate  the  soil  and  become  an 
actual  settler.  The  sixth  section  of  the  bill  provides 
that  any  person  who  is  now  an  inhabitant  of  the 
United  States,  but  not  a  citizen,  if  he  makes  applica 
tion,  and  in  the  course  of  five  years  becomes  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  shall  be  placed  on  a  footing  of 
equality  with  the  native-born  citizens  of  the  country 
in  this  respect.  The  third  section  provides  that  those 
entries  shall  be  confined  to  land  that  has  been  in  mar 
ket,  and  subjected  to  private  entry  ;  and  that  the  per 
sons  entering  the  land  shall  be  confined  to  each  alter 
nate  section. 

*  Mr.  Clingman. 


64  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

"  These  are  substantially  the  leading  provisions  of 
this  bill.  It  docs  not  proceed  upon  the  idea,  as  some 
suppose,  of  making  a  donation  or  gift  of  the  public 
land  to  the  settler.  It  proceeds  upon  the  principle  of 
consideration;  and  I  conceive,  and  I  think  many 
others  do,  that  the  individual  who  emigrates  to  the 
West,  and  reclaims  and  reduces  to  cultivation  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  the  public  domain,  subject 
ing  himself  to  all  the  privations  and  hardships  of  such 
a  life,  pays  the  highest  consideration  for  his  land. 

"But,  before  I  say  more  on  this  portion  of  the  sub 
ject,  I  desire  to  premise  a  little  by  giving  the  history 
of  this  homestead  proposition.  Some  persons  from 
my  own  region  of  the  country,  or,  in  other  words, 
from  the  South,  have  thrown  out  the  intimation  that 
this  is  a  proposition  which  partakes,  to  some  extent, 
of  the  nature  of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Society,  and  is  to 
operate  injuriously  to  the  Southern  States.  For  the 
purpose  of  making  the  starting-point  right,  I  want  to 
go  back  and  show  when  this  proposition  was  first  in 
troduced  into  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  I  am 
not  sure  but  that  the  Presiding  Officer*  remembers 
well  the  history  of  this  measure. 

"  In  1846,  on  the  27th  day  of  March,  long  before  we 
had  any  emigrant  aid  societies,  long  before  we  had 
the  compromises  of  1850  in  reference  to  the  slavery 
question,  long  before  we  had  any  agitation  on  the  sub 
ject  of  slavery  in  185-4,  long  before  we  had  any  agita 
tion  upon  it  in  1858,  this  proposition  made  its  advent 
into  the  House  of  Representatives.  It  met  with  con 
siderable  opposition.  It  scarcely  received  serious 

*  Mr.  Foot,  of  Vermont,  in  tlio  chair. 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  65 

consideration  for  a  length  of  time  ;  but  the  measure 
was  pressed  until  the  public  mind  took  hold  of  it ;  and 
it  was  still  pressed  until  the  12th  day  of  May,  1852, 
when  it  passed  that  body  by  a  two-thirds  vote.  Thus 
we  see  that  its  origin  and  its  consummation,  so  far  as 
the  House  of  Representatives  was  concerned,  had 
nothing  to  do  with  North  or  South,  but  proceeded 
upon  that  great  principle  which  interests  every  man 
in  this  country,  and  which,  in  the  end,  secures  and 
provides  for  him  a  home.  By  putting  these  dates  to 
gether,  it  will  be  perceived  that  it  was  just  six  years, 
five  months,  and  fifteen  days  from  the  introduction  of 
this  bill  until  its  passage  by  the  House  of  Represen 
tatives. 

"  I  shall  not  detain  the  Senate  by  any  lengthy  re 
marks  on  the  general  principles  of  the  bill  ;  for  I  do 
not  intend  to  be  prolix,  or  to  consume  much  of  the 
Senate's  time.  What  is  the  origin  of  the.  great  idea 
of  a  homestead  of  land  ?  We  find,  on  turning  to  the 
first  law-writer — and  I  think  one  of  the  best,  for  we 
are  informed  that  he  wrote  by  inspiration — that  he 
advances  the  first  idea  on  this  subject.  Moses  made 
use  of  the  following  language  : 

"  '  The  land  shall  not  be  sold  forever  ;  for  the  land 
is  mine — for  ye  are  strangers  and  sojourners  with 
me.' — Leviticus,  xxv.  23. 

"  We  begin,  then,  with  Moses.  The  next  writer  to 
whom  I  will  call  the  attention  of  the  Senate  is  Yattel 
— one  of  the  ablest,  if  not  the  ablest  writer  upon  the 
laws  of  nations.  He  lays  down  this  great  principle  :* 

"  '  Of  all  the  arts,  tillage  or  agriculture  is  the  most 

*  Vattel,  Book  I.  ch.  7. 


G6  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

useful  and  necessary.  It  is  the  nursing-father  of  the 
State.  The  cultivation  of  the  earth  causes  it  to  pro 
duce  an  infinite  increase  ;  it  forms  the  surest  resource, 
and  the  most  solid  fund  of  rich  commerce  for  the 
people  who  enjoy  a  happy  climate. 

" '  This  atlair,  then,  deserves  the  utmost  attention 
from  Government.  The  sovereign  ought  to  neglect 
no  means  of  rendering  the  land  under  his  obedience 
as  well  cultivated  as  possible.  He  ought  not  to  allow 
either  communities  or  private  persons  to  acquire  large 
tracts  of  land  to  leave  uncultivated.  These  rights  of 
common,  which  deprive  the  proprietor  of  the  free  lib 
erty  of  disposing  of  his  lands — that  will  not  allow  him 
to  farm  them,  and  cause  them  to  be  cultivated  in  the 
most  advantageous  manner — these  rights,  I  say,  are 
contrary  to  the  welfare  of  the  State,  and  ought  to  be 
suppressed  or  reduced  to  a  just  bound.  The  property 
introduced  among  the  citizens  does  not  prevent  the 
nation's  having  a  right  to  take  the  most  effectual 
measures  to  cause  the  whole  country  to  produce  the 
greatest  and  most  advantageous  revenue  possible. 

"'The  Government  ought  carefully  to  avoid  every 
thing  capable  of  discouraging  husbandmen,  or  of  di 
verting  them  from  the  labors  of  agriculture.  Those 
taxes,  those  excessive  and  ill-proportioned  impositions, 
the  burden  of  which  falls  almost  entirely  upon  the 
cultivators,  and  the  vexations  they  suffer  from  the 
commissioners  who  levy  them,  take  from  the  unhappy 
peasant  the  means  of  cultivating  the  earth,  and  de 
populate  the  country.  Spain  is  the  most  fertile  and 
the  worst  cultivated  country  in  Europe.  The  Church 
possesses  too  much  land,  and  the  undertakers  of 
I'ojal  magazines,  who  are  authorized  to  purchase  at 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  67 

low  prices  all  the  corn  they  find  in  possession  of  a 
peasant,  above  what  is  necessary  for  the  subsistence 
of  his  wife  and  family,  so  greatly  discourage  the  hus 
bandman,  that  he  sows  no  more  corn  than  is  necessary 
for  the  support  of  his  own  household.  Whence 
arises  the  greatest  scarcity  in  a  country  capable  of 
feeding  its  neighbors. 

"  *  Another  abuse  injurious  to  agriculture  is,  the 
contempt  cast  upon  husbandmen.  The  inhabitants  of 
cities,  even  the  most  servile  artist  and  the  most  lazy 
citizen,  consider  him  who  cultivates  the  soil  with  a 
disdainful  eye  ;  they  humble  and  discourage  him  ; 
they  dare  to  despise  a  profession  that  feeds  the  human 
race — the  natural  employment  of  man.  A  stay-maker 
places  far  beneath  him  the  beloved  employment  of 
the  first  consuls  and  dictators  of  Rome. 

"  '  China  has  wisely  prevented  this  abuse.  Agricul 
ture  is  there  held  in  honor;  and  to  preserve  this  happy 
manner  of  thinking,  every  year,  on  a  solemn  day,  the 
Emperor  himself,  followed  by  the  whole  court,  sets 
his  hands  to  the  plough  and  sows  a  small  piece  of  land. 
Hence  China  is  the  best  cultivated  country  in  the 
world.  It  nourishes  an  innumerable  multitude  of 
people  that  at  first  appears  to  the  traveller  too  great 
for  the  space  they  possess. 

"  '  The  cultivation  of  the  soil  is  not  only  to  be  recom 
mended  by  the  Government  on  account  of  the  extra 
ordinary  advantages  that  flow  from  it,  but  from  its 
being  an  obligation  imposed  by  nature  on  mankind. 
The  whole  earth  is  appointed  for  the  nourishment  of 
its  inhabitants,  but  it  would  be  incapable  of  doing  it 
was  it  uncultivated.  Every  nation  is  then  obliged  by 
a  law  of  nature  to  cultivate  the  ground  that  has  fallen 


68  ANDREW    JO]  IN  SON. 

to  its  share,  and  it  lias  no  right  to  expect  or  require 
assistance  from  others,  any  i'urther  than  the  land  in 
its  possession  is  incapable  of  furnishing'  it  with  neces 
saries.  Those  people,  like  the  ancient  Germans  and 
modern  Tartars,  who,  having  fertile  countries,  disdain 
to  cultivate  the  earth,  arid  rather  choose  to  live  by 
rapine,  are  wanting  to  themselves,  and  deserve  to  be 
exterminated  as  savage  and  rapacious  beasts.  There 
are  others  who  avoid  agriculture,  who  would  only  live 
by  hunting  and  flocks.  This  might  doubtless  be 
allowed  in  the  first  ages  of  the  world,  when  the  earth 
produced  more  than  was  sufficient  to  feed  its  few  in 
habitants;  but  at  present,  when  the  human  race  is  so 
greatly  multiplied,  it  would  not  subsist  if  all  nations 
resolved  to  live  in  this  manner.  Those  who  still  retain 
this  idle  life  usurp  more  extensive  territories  than 
they  would  have  occasion  for  were  they  to  use  honest 
labor,  and  have,  therefore,  no  reason  to  complain  if 
other  nations,  more  laborious  and  too  closely  confined, 
come  to  possess  a  part.  Thus,  though  the  conquest 
of  the  civilized  empires  of  Peru  and  Mexico  was  a 
notorious  usurpation,  the  establishment  of  many 
colonies  in  North  America  may,  on  their  confining 
themselves  within  just  bounds,  be  extremely  lawful. 
The  people  of  those  vast  countries  rather  overran  than 
inhabited  them.' 

"  I  propose  next  to  cite  the  authority  of  General 
Jackson,  who  was  believed  to  be  not  only  a  friend  to 
the  South  but  a  friend  to  the  Union.  He  inculcated 
this  great  doctrine  in  his  message  of  1832  : 

11 4  It  cannot  be  doubtefl  that  the  speedy  settlement 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  69 

of  those  lands  constitutes  the  true  interest  of  the 
Republic.  The  wealth  and  strength  of  a  country  are 
its  population,  and  the  best  part  of  the  population  are 
cultivators  of  the  soil.  Independent  farmers  are 
everywhere  the  basis  of  society,  and  the  true  friends 
of  liberty.' 

***** 
" '  It  seems  to  me  to  be  our  true  policy  that  the 
public  lands  shall  cease,  as  soon  as  practicable,  to  be 
a  source  of  revenue;  and  that  they  be  sold  to  settlers 
in  limited  parcels,  at  prices  barely  sufficient  to  reim 
burse  the  United  States  the  expense  of  the  present 
system,  and  the  cost  arising  from  our  Indian  con 
tracts.7 

***** 

"  '  It  is  desirable,  however,  that  the  right  of  the  soil, 
and  the  future  disposition  of  it,  be  surrendered  to  the 
States  respectively  in  which  it  lies. 

" '  The  adventurous  and  hardy  population  of  the 
West,  besides  contributing  their  equal  share  of  taxa 
tion  under  the  impost  system,  have,  in  the  progress  of 
our  Government,  for  the  lands  they  occupy,  paid  into 
the  treasury  a  large  proportion  of  forty  million  dollars, 
and  of  the  revenue  received  therefrom  but  a  small 
portion  has  been  expended  among  them.  When,  to 
the  disadvantage  of  their  situation  in  this  respect,  we 
add  the  consideration  that  it  is  their  labor  alone  that 
gives  real  value  to  the  lands,  and  that  the  proceeds 
arising  from  these  sales  are  chiefly  distributed  among 
States  that  had  not  originally  any  claim  to  them,  and 
which  have  enjoyed  the  undivided  emoluments  arising 
from  the  sales  of  their  own  lands,  it  cannot  be  ex 
pected  that  the  new  States  will  remain  longer  con- 


70  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

tented  with  the  present  policy,  after  the  payment  of 
the  public  debt.  To  avert  the  consequences  which 
may  be  apprehended  from  this  cause,  to  stop  forever 
all  partial  and  interested  legislation  on  this  subject, 
and  to  afford  every  American  citizen  of  enterprise  the 
opportunity  of  securing  an  independent  freehold,  it 
seems  to  me,  therefore,  best  to  abandon  the  idea  of 
raising  a  future  revenue  out  of  the  public  lands/ 

"  Thus  we  have  standing  before  us,  in  advocacy  of 
this  great  principle,  'the  first  writer  of  laws,  Moses  ; 
next  we  have  Vattcl  ;  and  in  the  third  place  we  have 
General  Jackson. 

"  Xow,  let  us  see  whether  there  has  been  any  home 
stead  policy  in  the  United  States.  By  turning  to  our 
statutes,  we  find  that  the  first  homestead  bill  ever 
introduced  into  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  was 
in  1791.  I  know  that  it  is  said  by  some,  and  it  is 
sometimes  cantingly  and  slurringly  reiterated  in  the 
newspapers,  that  this  is  a  demagogical  movement, 
and  that  some  person  has  introduced  and  advocates 
this  policy  purely  for  the  purpose  of  pleasing  the 
people.  I  want  to  see  who  some  of  these  demagogues 
are  ;  and,  before  I  read  the  section  of  this  statute,  I 
will  refer,  in  connection  with  Jackson  and  those  other 
distinguished  individuals,  to  the  fact  that  Mr.  Jeffer 
son,  the  philosopher  and  statesman,  recognized  and 
appreciated  this  great  doctrine.  In  1791,  the  first 
bill  passed  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  re 
cognizing  the  homestead  principle,  is  in  the  following 
words  : 

"  '  That  four  hundred  acres  of  land  be  given' — 
that  is  the  language  of  the  statute.     We  do  not  as 
sume  in  this  bill  to  give  land.     We  assume  that  a 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  71 

consideration  passes  ;  but  here  was  a  law  that  was 
based  on  the  idea  that  four  hundred  acres  of  land  were 
to  be  given 

— "  'to  each  of  those  persons  who,  in  the  year  1783, 
were  heads  of  families  at  Vincennes,  or  the  Illinois 
country,  or  the  Mississippi,  and  who,  since  that  time, 
have  removed  from  one  of  the  said  places  to  the  other; 
but  the  Governor  of  the  Territory  northwest  of  the 
Ohio  is  hereby  directed  to  cause  the  same  to  be  laid 
out  for  them  at  their  own  expense,7  etc. 

"Another  section  of  the  same  act  provides — 
"  '  That  the  heads  of  families  at  Vincennes,  or  in  the 
Illinois  country,  in  the  year  1783,  who  afterwards 
removed  without  the  limits  of  said  territory,  are 
nevertheless  entitled  to  the  donation  of  four  hundred 
acres  of  land  made  by  the  resolve  of  Congress/  etc. 

"  That  act  recognized  the  principle  embraced  in  the 
homestead  bill.  If  this  is  the  idea  of  a  demagogue, 
if  it  is  the  idea  of  one  catering  or  pandering  to  the 
public  sentiment  to  catch  votes,  it  was  introduced 
into  Congress  in  1791,  and  received  the  approval  of 
Washington,  the  father  of  his  country.  I  presume 
that  if  he  lived  at  this  day,  and  were  to  approve  the 
measure,  as  he  did  in  1791,  he  would  be  branded,  arid 
put  in  the  category  of  those  persons  who  are  denomi 
nated  demagogues.  Under  his  administration  there 
was  another  bill  passed  of  a  similar  import,  recogniz 
ing  and  carrying  out  the  great  homestead  principle. 
Thus  we  find  that  this  policy,  so  far  as  legislation  is 
concerned,  commenced  with  Washington,  and  received 
his  approval  as  early  as  1791.  From  General  Wash 
ington's  administration  there  are  forty-four  precedents, 
running  through  every  administration  of  this  Govern- 


72  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

ment  down  to  the  present  time,  in  which  this  principle 
has  been  recognized  and  indorsed. 

"  We  discover  from  this  historical  review  that  this 
is  no  new  idea,  that  it  is  no  recent  invention,  that  it 
is  no  new  movement  for  the  purpose  of  making  votes  ; 
but  it  is  a  principle  well-nigh  as  old  as  the  Govern 
ment  itself,  which  was  indorsed  and  approved  by 
Washington  himself. 

"  This  would  seem,  Mr.  President,  to  settle  the 
question  of  power.  I  know  it  has  been  argued  by 
some  that  Congress  had  not  the  power  to  make  dona 
tions  of  land  ;  but  even  the  statute  to  which  I  have 
referred  makes  use  of  the  word  '  give,'  without  con 
sideration.  It  was  considered  constitutional  by  the 
early  fathers  to  give  away  land.  We  proceed  in  this 
bill  upon  the  principle  that  there  is  a  consideration. 
If  I  were  disposed  to  look  for  precedents,  even  for 
the  donations  of  the  public  lands,  I  could  instance  the 
bounty-land  act,  I  could  take  you  through  other  acts 
donating  land,  showing  that  the  principle  has  been 
recognized  again  and  again,  and  that  there  is  not 
now  a  question  as  to  its  constitutionality. 

"  I  believe  there  is  a  clear  difference  in  the  power 
of  the  Federal  Government  in  reference  to  its  appro 
priations  of  money  and  its  appropriations  of  the  public 
land.  The  Congress  of  the  United  States  has  power 
to  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises, 
to  pay  the  debts  and  provide  for  the  common  defence 
and  general  welfare.  I  believe  it  has  the  power  to 
lay  and  collect  duties  for  these  legitimate  purposes  ; 
but  when  taxes  have  been  laid,  collected,  and  paid 
into  the  treasury,  I  do  not  think  it  has  that  general 
scope  or  that  latitude  in  the  appropriation  of  money 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  3 

that  it  has  over  the  public  lands.  Once  converted 
into  revenue,  Congress  can  only  appropriate  the 
revenue  to  the  specific  objects  of  the  Constitution. 
It  may  derive  revenue  from  the  public  lands,  and 
being  revenue,  it  can  only  be  appropriated  to  the 
purposes  for  which  revenue  is  raised  under  the  Con 
stitution. 

"  But  when  we  turn  to  another  provision  of  the  Con 
stitution,  we  find  that  Congress  has  power  '  to  dis 
pose  of  and  make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations 
respecting  the  territory  or  other  property  belonging 
to  the  United  States.'  Congress  has,  in  the  organiza 
tion  of  all  the  Territories  and  in  the  admission  of  new 
States,  recognized  most  clearly  the  principle  of  appro 
priating  the  public  lands  for  the  benefit  of  schools, 
colleges,  and  academies.  It  has  granted  the  sixteenth 
and  thirty-sixth  sections  of  every  township  for  school 
purposes  ;  it  has  granted  lands  for  public  buildings 
and  various  other  improvements.  I  am  very  clear  on 
this  point,  that  in  the  disposition  of  the  public  lands 
they  should  be  applied  to  national  purposes.  If  we 
grant  the  public  lands  to  actual  settlers,  so  as  to  in 
duce  them  to  settle  upon  and  cultivate  them,  can  there 
be  any  thing  more  national  in  its  character  ?  What 
is  the  great  object  of  acquiring  territory  ?  Is  it  not 
for  settlement  and  cultivation?  We  may  acquire 
territory  by  the  exercise  of  the  treaty-making  power. 
We  may  be  engaged  in  a  war,  and  as  terms  or  con 
ditions  of  peace  we  may  make  large  acquisitions  of 
territory  to  the  United  States.  But  what  is  the  great 
idea  and  principle  on  which  you  acquire  territory  ? 
Is  it  not  to  settle  and  cultivate  it  ? 

"  I  am  aware  that  the  argument  is  used,  if  you  can 
4 


7-i  ANDliEW    JOHNSOX. 

dispose  of  the  public  lands  for  this  purpose  or  that 
purpose,  cannot  you  sell  the  public  lands  and  apply 
the  proceeds  to  the  same  purpose  ?     I  think  there  is 
a   clear    distinction   between  the   two   cases.       It    is 
equally  clear  to  me  that,  if  the  Federal  Government 
can  set  apart  the  public  lands  for  school  purposes  in 
the  new  States,  it  can  appropriate  lands  to  enable  the 
parent  to  sustain  the  child  whilst  enjoying-  the  bene 
fits  conferred  upon  him   by  the   Government   in   the 
shape   of  education.     The  argument  is  as   sound   in 
the  one  case  as  it  is  in  the  other.     If  we  can  grant 
lands  in  the  one  case,  we  can  in  the  other.     If,  with 
out   making  a  contract  in  advance,  you   can    grant 
your  public  lands  as  gratuities,  as  donations  to  men 
who    go  out  and  light  the   battles  of  their  country, 
after  the  services  have  been  rendered,  is  it  not  strange, 
passing  strange,  that  you  cannot  grant  land  to  those 
who  till  the  soil  and  make  provision  to  sustain  your 
army  while  it  is  fighting  the  battles  of  the  country  ? 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  argument  is  clear.     I  do  not 
intend  to  argue  the  constitutional  question,  for  I  think 
there  can  be  really  no  doubt  on  that  point.     I  do  not 
believe  any  one  at  this  day  will  seriously  make  any 
point  on  that  ground  against  this  bill.     Is  its  purpose 
a  national  one  ?     The  great  object  is  to  induce  persons 
to  cultivate  the  land,  and  thereby  make  the  soil  pro 
ductive.     By  doing  this,  you  induce  hundreds  of  per 
sons  throughout  the  United  States,  who  are  now  pro 
ducing  but  little,  to  come  in  contact  with  the  soil  and 
add  to  the  productive   capacity  of  the  country,  and 
thereby  promote  the  national  weal. 

"  I  come  now  to  the  amendment  offered  by  the  sena 
tor  from  North  Carolina.     I  have  not  looked  over  the 


SERVICES   AND    SPEECHES.  75 

Globe  this  morning  to  read  his  remarks  of  yesterday; 
but  if  I  understood  him  correctly,  he  advocated  the 
proposition  of  issuing  a  warrant  for  a  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  land  to  each  head  of  a  family  in  the 
United  States.  I  am  inclined  to  think  the  senator  is 
not  serious  in  this  proposition.  It  has  been  offered 
on  some  occasions  heretofore,  and  rejected  by  very 
decided  votes.  Let  us  compare  it  with  the  proposi 
tion  of  the  bill.  The  idea  of  the  honorable  senator 
seems  to  be  that  this  bill  was  designed  to  force  or 
compel,  to  some  extent,  the  citizens  of  other  States  to 
go  to  the  new  States.  Why,  sir,  there  is  no  com 
pulsory  process  in  the  bill.  It  leaves  each  man  at  his 
own  discretion,  at  his  own  free  will,  either  to  go  or  to 
stay,  just  as  it  suits  his  inclinations. 

"  The  senator  seems  to  think  too — and  the  same 
idea  was  advanced  by  his  predecessor — that  at  this 
time  such  a  measure  would  have  a  tendency  to  di 
minish  the  revenue.  He  intimates  that  the  nation  is 
now  bankrupt,  that  we  are  borrowing  money,  that  the 
receipts  from  customs  have  been  greatly  diminished, 
and  that  therefore  it  would  be  dangerous  to  pass  this 
bill,  because  it  would  have  a  tendency  to  diminish  the 
revenue.  Let  us  compare  the  senator's  proposition 
and  that  of  the  bill,  in  this  respect.  His  amendment 
is  to  issue  warrants  to  each  head  of  a  family.  The 
population  of  the  United  States  is  now  estimated  at 
about  twenty-eight  millions.  Let  us  assume,  for  the 
sake  of  illustration,  that  there  are  three  million  heads 
of  families  in  the  United  States.  His  proposition, 
then,  is  to  issue  and  throw  upon  the  market  three 
millions  of  warrants,  each  warrant  entitling  the  holder 
to  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land.  If  that  were 


70  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

done,  and  those  warrants  were  thrown  upon  the  mar 
ket,  what  would  they  sell  for?  Little  or  nothing.  If 
such  land-warrants  were  thrown  broadcast  over  the 
country,  who  would  enter  another  acre  of  land  at 
$1.25  ?  Would  not  the  warrants  pass  into  the  hands 
of  land-speculators  and  monopolists  at  a  merely  nom 
inal  price  ?  Would  they  bring'  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  dollar  an  acre  ?  If  you  were  to  throw  three  mil 
lions  of  land-warrants  into  the  market  at  one  time, 
would  they  bring1  any  tbmo-  ?  Then  the  effect  of  that 
proposition  \vou!d  be  t<>  d>.  but  little  good  to  those  to 
whom  the  u ;*rr;;iiT.<  \VP;T  issm'<!,  :  ;tnd  by  throwing 
them  into  the  marker,  i(  \v.,ul.{  <-nt  otT  the  revenue 
from  public  lands  entirely,  for  no  ^j»e.  would  enter 
land  for  cash  a*  long  as  warrant^  could  be  bought. 
That  proposition,  then,  is  to  aid  and  feed  speculation. 
I  do  not  say  that  is  the  motive  or  intention,  but  it  is 
the  tendency  and  effect  of  the  senator's  proposition 
to  throw  a  large  portion  of  the  public  lands  into  the 
hands  of  speculators,  and  to  cut  them  off  from  the 
treasury  as  a  source  of  revenue. 

"But  what  does  this  bill  propose?  Will  it  dimin 
ish  the  receipts  into  the  treasury  from  the  public 
lands  ?  The  bill  provides  that  the  entries  under  it 
shall  be  confined  to  the  alternate  sections,  and  that 
the  person  who  obtains  the  benefit  of  the  bill  must  be 
an  actual  settler  and  cultivator.  In  proportion  as  you 
settle  and  cultivate  any  portion  of  the  public  lands, 
do  you  not  enhance  the  value  of  the  remaining  sec 
tions,  and  bring  them  into  the  market  much  sooner, 
and  obtain  a  better  price  for  them  than  you  would 
without  this  bill  ?  What  is  the  principle  upon  which 
you  have  proceeded  in  all  the  railroad  grants  you 


SERVICES    AND    Sl'KKCUKS.  77 

have  made?  They  have  been  defended  upon  the 
ground  that  by  granting'  alternate  sections  for  rail 
roads,  you  thereby  brought  the  remaining  lands  into 
the  market,  and  enabled  the  Government  to  realize  its 
means  at  a  much  earlier  period,  making  the  remainder 
of  the  public  lands  more  valuable  than  they  were  be 
fore.  This  bill  proceeds  upon  the  same  idea.  You 
have  granted  an  immense  amount  of  lands  to  railroads 
on  this  principle,  and  now  why  not  do  something  for 
the  people  ? 

"  I  say,  that  instead  of  wasting  the  public  lands, 
instead  of  reducing  the  receipts  into  the  treasury,  this 
bill  would  increase  them.  In  the  first  place,  it  will 
enhance  the  value  of  the  reserved  quarter-sections. 
This  may  be  illustrated  by  an  example.  In  1848  we 
had  nine  million  quarter-sections  ;  in  1858  we  have 
about  seven  millions.  Let  us  suppose  that  our  popu 
lation  is  twenty-eight  millions,  and  that  under  the 
operation  of  this  bill  one  million  heads  of  families  who 
are  now  producing  but  very  little,  and  who  have  no 
land  to  cultivate,  and  very  scanty  means  of  subsist 
ence,  shall  each  have  a  quarter-section  of  land,  what 
will  the  effect  be  ?  At  present  these  persons  pay 
little  or  nothing  for  the  support  of  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment,  under  the  operation  of  our  tariff  system,  for 
the  reason  that  they  have  not  got  much  to  buy  with. 
How  much  does  the  land  yield  to  the  Government 
while  it  is  lying  in  a  state  of  nature,  uncultivated? 
Nothing  at  all.  At  the  rate  we  have  been  selling  the 
public  lands,  about  three  million  dollars'  worth  a  year, 
estimating  them  at  $1.25  an  acre,  it  will  take  a  frac 
tion  less  than  seven  hundred  years  to  dispose  of  the 
public  domain. 


TS 


"  I  will  take  a  case  that  will  demonstrate  as  clearly 
as  the  simplest  sum  in  arithmetic  Unit  this  is  a  reve 
nue  measure.  Let  us  take  a  million  families  who  can 
now  hardly  procure  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  place 
them  each  on  a  quarter-section  of  land, — how  long 
will  it  be  before  their  condition  will  be  improved  so 
us  to  make  them  able  to  contribute  something  to  the 
support  of  the  Government  ?  Now,  here  is  soil  pro 
ducing  nothing,  here  are  hands  producing  but  little. 
Transfer  the  man  from  the  point  where  he  is  produ 
cing  nothing,  bring  him  in  contact  with  a  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  productive  .soil,  and  how  long  will  it  be 
before  that  man  changes  his  condition?  As  soon  as 
he  gets  upon  the  land  he  begins  to  make  his  improve 
ments,  he  clears  out  his  field,  arid  the  work  of  produc 
tion  is  commenced.  In  a  short  time  he  has  a  crop,  he 
has  stock  and  other  things  that  result  from  bringing 
his  physical  labor  in  contact  with  the  soil.  He  has 
the  products  of  his  labor  and  his  land,  and  he  is  en 
abled  to  exchange  them  for  articles  of  consumption. 
lie  is  enabled  to  buy  more  than  he  did  before,  and  thus 
he  contributes  more  to  the  support  of  his  Government, 
while,  at  the  same  time,  he  becomes  a  better  man,  a  more 
reliable  man  for  all  governmental  purposes,  because 
he  is  interested  in  the  country  in  which  he  lives. 

"To  illustrate  the  matter  further,  let  us  take  a 
family  of  seven  persons  in  number  who  now  have  no 
home,  no  abiding-place  that  they  can  call  their  own, 
and  transfer  them  to  a  tract  of  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land  which  they  are  to  possess  and  cultivate. 
Is  there  a  senator  here  who  does  not  believe,  that,  by 
changing  their  position  from  one  place  to  the  other, 
they  would  produce  at  least  a  dollar  more  than  they 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  79 

did  before  ?  I  will  begin  at  a  point  scarcely  visible, 
— a  single  dollar.  Is  there  a  num  here  or  anywhere 
else  who  does  not  know  the  fact  to  be,  that  you  in 
crease  a  man's  ability  to  buy  when  he  produces  more 
by  bringing  his  labor  in  contact  with  the  soil.  The 
result  of  that  contact  is  production  ;  he  produces 
something  that  he  can  convert  and  exchange  for  the 
necessities  of  his  family.  Suppose  the  increase  was 
only  a  dollar  a  head  for  a  million  of  families,  each 
family  consisting  of  seven  persons.  By  transferring 
a  million  of  families  from  their  present  dependent 
condition  to  the  enjoyment  and  cultivation  of  the  pub 
lic  domain,  supposing  it  would  only  increase  their 
ability  to  buy  foreign  imports  to  the  extent  of  a  dollar 
each,  you  would  create  a  demand  for  seven  millions' 
worth  of  imports.  Our  rates  of  duties,  under  the  tar 
iff  act  of  1846,  are  about  thirty  per  cent.,  and  thus, 
at  the  almost  invisible  beginning  of  a  single  dollar  a 
head,  you,  in  this  way,  increase  the  pecuniary  and 
financial  means  of  the  Government  to  the  extent  of 
$2,100,000. 

"  This  would  be  the  result,  supposing  that  there 
would  only  be  an  addition  of  one  dollar  per  head  to 
the  ability  of  each  family,  by  being  taken  from  a  con 
dition  of  poverty  and  placed  upon  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  "of  land.  This  is  the  result,  supposing 
them  to  have  seven  dollars  more,  with  which  to  buy 
articles  of  consumption,  than  they  had  when  they  had 
no  home,  no  soil  to  cultivate,  no  stimulant,  no  induce 
ment  to  labor.  If  you  suppose  the  effect  would  be  to 
increase  their  ability  two  dollars  per  head,  you 
would  increase  their  consumption  to  the  amount  of 
$14,000,000,  which,  at  thirty  per  cent,  duty,  would 


yield  $4,200.000.  If  you  .supposed  it  increased  the 
ability  of  a  family  f<>nr  dollars  per  head,  the  total 
amount  would  he  $28,000,000,  whir!)  would  yield  a 
revenue  of  $8,400,000.  1  think  that  this  would  be  far 
below  the  truth,  and  if  you  give  a  family  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  land  to  cultivate,  the  effect  would 
be  to  increase  the  ability  of  that  family  so  as  to  buy 
fifty-six  dollars'  worth  more  than  they  bought  before — 
eight  dollars  a  head.  That  would  be  a  small  increase 
to  a  family  who  had  a  home,  compared  with  the  con 
dition  of  that  family  when  it  had  none.  The  effect  of 
that  would  be  to  run  up  the  amount  they  buy  to 
$5fi,000,000,  which,  at  a  duty  of  thirty  per  cent., 
would  yield  the  sum  of  $16,800,000. 

"I  show  yon.  then,  that,  by  taking-  one  million 
families,  consisting-  of  seven  persons  each,  and  putting- 
them  each  upon  a  quarter-section  of  land,  making  the 
soil  productive,  if  you  thereby  only  add  to  their 
capacity  to  buy  goods  tu  the  amount  of  fifty-six 
dollars  per  family,  you  would  derive  ii  revenue  of 
nearly  seventeen  million  dollars.  When  you  have  done 
this,  how  much  of  the  public  lands  would  you  have 
disposed  of?  One  million  quarter-sections,  and  you 
would  have  nearly  six  million  quarter-sections  left. 
By  disposing  of  one-sixth  of  your  public  domain  in 
this  way,  upon  this  little  miniature  estimate,  yon 
bring  into  the  coffers  of  the  Federal  Government  by 
this  bill  iBl 0,800, 000  annually. 

"  "Does  this  look  like  diminishing  the  revenue  ?  Does 
it  not  rather  show  that  this  bill  is  a  revenue  measure  ? 
I  think  it  is  most  clearly  a  revenue  measure.  Not 
only  is  this  the  case  in  a  money  point  of  view,  so  far 
us  the  imports  are  concerned,  but.  by  settling  the 


SERVICES    AND    ^I'Ki-X'HKS.  81 

alternate  sections  with  actual  cultivators,  you  make 
the  remaining  sections  more  valuable  to  the  Govern 
ment,  an£  you  bring-  them  sooner  into  market.  In 
continuation  of  this  idea,  I  will  read  a  portion  of  the 
argument  which  I  made  upon  this  subject  when  I  first 
introduced  the  bill  into  the  other  House.  I  read  from 
the  report  of  my  speech  on  that  occasion  : 

"  '  Mr.  J.  said,  it  will  be  remembered  by  the  House 
that  he  had  already  shown,  that  by  giving  an  indivi 
dual  a  quarter-section  of  the  land,  the  Government 
would  receive  back,  in  the  shape  of  a  revenue,  in 
every  seven  years,  more  than  the  Government  price 
of  the  land  ;  and,  upon  this  principle,  the  Govern 
ment  would,  in  fact,  be  realizing  two  hundred  and 
ten  dollars  every  subsequent  term  of  seven  years.  The 
whole  number  of  acres  of  public  land  belonging  to 
the  United  States  at  this  time,  or  up  to  the  30th  of 
September,  1848,  is  one  billion  four  hundred  and  forty- 
two  millions  two  hundred  and  sixteen  thousand  one 
hundred  and  sixty-eight  acres.  This  amount,  esti 
mated  at  $1.25  per  acre,  will  make  $1,802,770,000. 
To  dispose  of  $3,000,000  worth  per  annum,  which  is 
more  than  an  average  sum,  would  require  seven 
hundred  years,  or  a  fraction  less,  to  dispose  of  the 
entire  domain.  It  will  now  be  perceived  at  once 
that  the  Government  would  derive  an  immense  ad 
vantage  by  giving  the  land  to  the  cultivator,  instead 
of  keeping  it  on  hand  this  length  of  time.  We  find 
by  this  process  the  Government  would  derive  from 
each  quarter-section  in  six  hundred  years  (throwing 
off  the  large  excess  of  nearly  one  hundred  years), 
$17,000 — seven  going  into  six  hundred  eighty-five 
times.  This,  then,  shows  on  the  one  'hand  what 
4* 


82  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

the    Government   would    gain   by    giving    the    land 

away. 

***** 

"  '  He  said  that  this  expose  ought  to  satisfy  every 
one,  that  instead  of  violating  the  plighted  faith  of  the 
Government,  it  was  enlarging  and  making  more  valu 
able,  and  enabling  the  Government  to  derive  a  much 
larger  amount  of  revenue  to  meet  all  its  liabilities, 
and  thereby  preserving  its  faith  inviolate.' 

"  I  do  not  think  there  can  be  any  question  as  to  the 
revenue  part  of  this  proposition.  We  show  that  by 
granting  a  million  quarter-sections  you  derive  more 
revenue  upon  the  public  lands  than  you  do  by  your 
entire  land-system,  as  it  now  stands.  In  1850,  it 
was  estimated  that  each  head  of  a  family  consumed 
$100  worth  of  home  manufactures.  If  we  increase 
the  ability  of  the  cultivator  and  occupier  of  the  soil 
fifty -six  dollars  in  the  family,  of  course  it  is  reasonable 
to  presume  that  he  would  consume  a  correspondingly 
increased  proportion  of  home  manufactures.  Can  that 
proposition  be  controverted  ?  I  think  not.  Then  we 
see  on  the  one  hand,  that  we  should  derive  more  rev 
enue  from  granting  the  land,  on  the  principle  laid 
down  in  the  bill,  and  also  that  we  should  open  a 
market  for  articles  manufactured  in  our  own  country. 
Then,  taking  both  views  of  the  subject,  we  see  that  it 
is  an  advantage  to  the  manufacturing  interest,  and 
that  it  is  also  an  advantage  to  the  Government,  so 
far  as  imports  are  concerned.  I  should  like  to  know, 
then,  where  can  the  objection  be,  upon  the  score  of 
revenue. 

"  But,  Mr.  President,  the  question  of  dollars  and  cents 
is  of  no  consideration  to  me.  The  money  view  of  this 


SERVICES   AND    SPEECHES.  83 

subject  does  not  influence  my  mind  by  the  weight  of 
a  feather.  I  think  it  is  clear,  though  ;  and  this  view 
has  been  presented  to  prove  to  senators  that  this  bill 
will  riot  diminish,  but,  on  the  contrary,  will  increase 
the  revenue. 

"  But  this  is  not  the  most  important  view  of  the  sub 
ject.  When  you  look  at  our  country  as  it  is,  you  see 
that  it  is  very  desirable  that  the  great  mass  of  the 
people  should  be  interested  in  the  country.  By  this 
bill  you  provide  a  man  with  a  home,  you  increase  the 
revenue,  you  increase  the  consumption  of  home  man 
ufactures,  and  you  make  him  a  better  man,  and  you 
give  him  an  interest  in  the  country.  His  condition  is 
better.  There  is  no  man  so  reliable  as  he  who  is 
interested  in  the  welfare  of  his  country ;  and  who  are 
more  interested  in  the  welfare  of  their  country  than 
those  who  have  homes  ?  When  a  man  has  a  home, 
he  has  a  deeper,  a  more  abiding  interest  in  the 
country,  and  he  is  more  reliable  in  all  things  that 
pertain  to  the  Government.  He  is  more  reliable  when 
he  goes  to  the  ballot-box  ;  he  is  more  reliable  in  sus 
taining  in  every  way  the  stability  of  our  free  institu 
tions. 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  this,  without  the  other  consider 
ation,  would  be  a  sufficient  inducement.  When  we 
see  the  population  that  is  accumulating  about  some 
of  our  cities,  I  think  it  behooves  every  man  who  is  a 
statesman,  a  patriot,  and  a  philanthropist,  to  turn  his 
attention  to  this  subject.  I  have  lately  seen  some 
statistics  with  reference  to  the  city  of  New  York,  in 
which  it  is  assumed  that  one-sixth  of  the  population 
are  paupers;  that  two-sixths  of  the  population  are 
barely  able  to  sustain  themselves;  leaving  one  pauper 


to  be  sustained  l>y  three  persons  in  every  six  in  {he 
city  of  New  York.  Does  not  thut  present  a  frightful 
state  of  thing's?  Suppose  the  population  of  that  city 
to  be  one  million  :  you  would  have  in  the  single  city 
of  New  York  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  thousand 
paupers. 

"I  do  not  look  upon  the  growth  of  cities  and  the  ac 
cumulation  of  population  about  cities  as  being1  the 
most  desirable  objects  in  this  country.  I  do  not  be 
lieve  that  a  large  portion  of  this  population,  even  if 
you  wore  to  offer  them  homesteads,  would  ever  go  to 
them.  1  have  no  idea  that  they  would;  for  a  man  who 
has  spent  most  of  his  life  about  a  city,  and  lias  sunk 
into  a  pauperized  condition,  is  not  the  man  to  ^o 
West,  reclaim  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land1, 
and  reduce  it  to  cultivation.  He  will  not  go  there  on 
that  condition.  Though  we  are  satisfied  of  this,  may 
not  our  policy  he  such  as  to  prevent,  as  far  as  practica 
ble,  the  further  accumulation  of  such  an  unproductive 
population  about  our  cities?  Let  us  iry  to  prevent 
their  future  accumulation  ;  let  these  live,  have  their 
day,  and  pass  away — they  will  ultimately  pass  away— 
but  let  our  policy  be  such  as.  to  induce  men  to  become 
mechanics  and  agriculturists.  Interest  them  in  the 
country,  pin  them  to  the  soil,  and  they  become  more 
reliable  and  sustain  themselves,  and  you  do  away 
with  much  of  the  pauperism  in  the  country.  The 
population  of  the  United  States  being  twenty-eight 
millions,  if  the  same  proportion  of  paupers  as  in  the 
city  of  New  York  existed  throughout  the  country, 
you  would  have  four  million  six  hundred  anil  sixty- 
six  thousand  paupers  in  the  United  States.  Do  wo 
want  ull  our  population  t<»  become  of  that  character? 


SERVICES    AND    bl'EEClIES.  85 

Do  we  want  cities  to  take  control  of  this  Government  ? 
Unless  the  proper  steps  be  taken,  unless  the  proper 
direction  be  given  to  the  future  affairs  of  this  Govern 
ment,  the  cities  are  to  take  charge  of  it  and  control 
it.  The  rural  population,  the  mechanical  and  agricul 
tural  portions  of  this  community,  are  the  very  salt  of 
it.  They  constitute  the  "  mud-sills,"  to  use  a  term 
recently  introduced  here.  They  constitute  the  founda 
tion  upon  which  the  Government  rests;  and  hence  we 
see  the  state  of  things  before  us.  Should  we  not 
give  the  settlement  of  our  public  lands  and  the  popu 
lation  of  our  country  that  direction  which  will  beget 
and  create  the  best  portion  of  the  population  ?  Is  it 
not  fearful  to  think  of  four  million  six  hundred  and 
sixty-six  thousand  paupers  in  the  United  States,  at 
the  rate  they  have  them  in  New  York  ?  Mr.  Jeffer 
son  never  said  a  truer  thing  than  when  he  declared 
that  large  cities  were  eye-sores  in  the  body  politic  : 
iu  democracies  they  are  consuming  cancers. 

"  I  know  the  idea  of  some  is  to  build  up  great  popu 
lous  cities,  and  that  thereby  the  interests  of  the 
country  are  to  be  promoted.  Sir,  a  city  not  only 
sinks  into  pauperism,  but  into  vice  and  immorality  of 
every  description  that  can  be  enumerated  ;  and  I 
would  not  vote  for  any  policy  that  I  believed  would 
build  up  cities  upon  this  principle.  Build  up  your 
villages,  build  up  your  rural  districts,  and  you  will 
have  men  who  rely  upon  their  own  industry,  who 
rely  upon  their  own  efforts,  who  rely  -upon  their  own 
ingenuity,  who  rely  upon  their  own  economy  and 
application  to  business  for  a  support ;  and  these  are 
the  people  whom  you  have  to  depend  upon.  Why,  Mr. 
President,  how  was  it  in  ancient  Rome  ?  I  know 


86  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

there  has  been  a  great  deal  said  in  denunciation  of 
agrarianism  and  the  Gracchi.  It  has  been  said  that 
a  doctrine  something  like  this  led  to  the  decline  of 
the  Roman  empire  ;  but  the  Gracchi  never  had  their 
day  until  a  cancerous  influence  had  destroyed  the 
very  vitals  of  Rome  ;  and  -it  was  the  destruction  of 
Rome  that  brought  forth  Tiberius  Gracchus.  It  was 
to  prevent  land  monopoly,  not  agrarianism,  in  the 
common  acceptation  of  the  term — which  is  dividing 
out  lands  that  had  been  acquired  by  individuals. 
They  sought  to  take  back  and  put  in  the  possession 
of  the  great  mass  of  the  people  that  portion  of  the 
public  domain  which  had  been  assumed  by  the  capital 
ists,  who  had  no  title  to  it  in  fact.  The  Gracchi  tried 
to  carry  out  this  policy — to  restore  that  which  had 
been  taken  from  the  people.  The  population  had  sunk 
into  the  condition  of  large  proprietors  on  the  one  hand, 
and  dependents  on  the  other  ;  and  when  this  depend 
ent  condition  wTas  brought  about,  as  we  find  from 
Niebuhr's  History,  the  middle  class  of  the  community 
was  all  gone  ;  it  had  left  the  country  ;  there  was 
nothing  but  an  aristocracy  on  the  one  hand,  and  de 
pendents  upon  that  aristocracy  on  the  other  ;  and 
when  this  got  to  be  the  case,  the  Romairempire  went 
down. 

"  Having  this  illustrious  example  before  us,  we 
should  be  warned  by  it.  Our  true  policy  is  to  build 
up  the  middle  class,  to  sustain  the  villages,  to  popu 
late  the  rural  districts,  and  let  the  power  of  this  Gov 
ernment  remain  with  the  middle  class.  I  want  no 
miserable  city  rabble  on  the  one  hand  ;  I  want  no  pam 
pered,  bloated,  corrupted  aristocracy  on  the  other.  I 
want  the  middle  portion  of  society  to  be  built  up  and 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  87 

sustained,  and  to  let  them  have  the  control  of  the 
Government.  I  am  as  much  opposed  to  agrariariism 
as  any  senator  on  this  floor,  or  any  individual  in  the 
United  States.  And  this  bill  does  not  partake  in  the 
slightest  degree  of  agrarianism  ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
it  commences  with  men  at  the  precise  point  where 
agrarianism  ends,  and  it  carries  them  up  in  an  ascend 
ing  line,  while  that  carries  them  down.  It  gives  them 
an  interest  in  their  country,  an  interest  in  public  af 
fairs  ;  and  when  you  are  involved  in  war,  in  insurrec 
tion,  or  rebellion,  or  danger  of  any  kind,  they  are  the 
men  who  are  to  sustain  you.  If  you  should  have  oc 
casion  to  call  volunteers  into  the  service  of  the  coun 
try,  you  will  have  a  population  of  men  having  homes, 
having  wives  and  children  to  care  for,  who  will 
defend  their  hearthstones  when  invaded.  What  a 
sacred  thing  it  is  to  a  man  to  feel  that  he  has  a  hearth 
stone  to  defend,  a  home,  and  a  wife  and  children  to 
care  for,  and  to  rest  satisfied  that  they  have  an  abid 
ing-place  !  Such  a  man  is  interested  individually  in 
repelling  invasion ;  he  is  interested  individually  in 
having  good  government. 

"  I  know  there  are  many,  and  even  some  in  the 
Democratic  ranks,  whose  nerves  are  a  little  timid  in 
regard  to  trusting  the  people  with  too  much  power. 
Sir,  the  people  are  the  safest,  the  best,  and  the  most 
reliable  lodgment  of  power,  if  you  have  a  population 
of  this  kind.  Keep  up  the  middle  class  ;  lop  off  an 
aristocracy  on  the  one  hand,  and  a  rabble  on  the  other  ; 
let  the  middle  class  maintain  the  ascendency,  let 
them  have  the  power,  and  your  Government  is  always 
secure.  Then  you  need  not  fear  the  people.  I  know, 
as  I  have  just  remarked,  that  some  are  timid  in  regard 


88  ANUKKW    JOIIN.-SOX. 


to  trusting  the  people  ;  but  there  can  be  no  danger 
from  a  people  who  are  interested  in  their  Government, 
who  have  homes  to  defend,  and  wives  and  children  to 
care  for.  Even  if  we  test  this  proposition  by  that 
idea  of  self-interest  which  is  said  to  govern  and  con 
trol  man,  I  ask  you  if  a  man  who  has  an  interest  in 
his  country  is  not  more  reliable  than  one  who  has 
none  ?  Is  not  a  man  who  is  adding  to  the  wealth  of 
his  country  more  reliable  than  one  who  is  simply  a 
consumer  and  has  no  interest  in  it?  It'  we  suppose  a 
man  to  be  governed  only  by  the  principle  of  self-inter 
est,  is  he  not  more  reliable  when  he  has  a  stake  in 
the  country,  and  is  it  not  his  interest  to  promote  and  ad 
vance  his  own  condition  ?  Is  it  not  the  interest  of  the 
great  mass  to  have  every  thing  done  rightly  in  reference 
to  Government  ?  The  great  mass  of  the  people  hold 
no  office  ;  they  expect  nothing-  from  the  Government. 
The  only  way  they  feel,  and  know,  and  understand 
the  operations  of  the  Government  is  in  the  exactions 
it  makes  from  them.  When  they  are  receiving  from 
the  Government  protection  in  common,  it  is  their  in 
terest  to  do  right  in  all  governmental  affairs  ;  and 
that  being  their  interest,  they  are  to  be  relied  upon, 
even  if  you  suppose  men  to  be  actuated  altogether  by 
tlie  principle  of  self-interest.  It  is  the  interest  of  the 
middle  class  to  do  right  in  all  governmental  attains  ; 
and  hence  they  are  to  be  relied  upon.  Instead  nf  re 
quiring  you  to  keep  up  your  armies,  your  mounted 
men,  and  your  footmen  on  the  frontier,  if  you  will  let 
the  people  go  and  possess  this  public  land  on  the  con 
ditions  proposed  in  this  bill,  you  will  have  an  army 
on  the  frontier  composed  of  men  who  will  defend  their 
own  firesides,  who  will  take  care  of  their  own  homes, 


S    AND    SIMvl'X'i  I  KS.  89 


and  will  defend  the  other  portions  of  the  country,  if 
*need  be,  in  time  of  war. 

"  I  would  remark  in  this  connection,  that  the  public 
lands  have  paid  for  themselves.  According  to  the  re 
port  of  Mr.  Stuart  of  Virginia,  the  Secretary  of  the  In 
terior  in  1850,  it  was  shown  that  then  the  public  lands 
had  paid  for  themselves,  and  sixty  millions  over.  We 
have  received  into  the  treasury  since  that  time  about 
thirty-two  million  dollars  from  the  public  lands.  They 
have,  therefore,  already  paid  the  Government  more 
than  they  cost,  and  there  can  be  no  objection  to  this 
bill  on  the  ground  that  the  public  lands  have  been 
bought  with  the  common  treasure  of  the  whole  coun 
try.  Besides,  this  bill  provides  that  each  individual 
making  an  entry  shall  pay  all  the  expenses  attend 
ing  it. 

"  We  see,  then,  Mr.  President,  the  eft'ect  this  policy 
is  to  have  on  population.  Let  me  ask  here  —  looking- 
to  our  popular  elections,  looking  to  the  proper  lodg 
ment  of  power  —  is  it  not  time  that  we  had  adopted  a 
policy  which  would  give  us  men  interested  in  the 
affairs  of  the  country,  to  control  and  sway  our  elec 
tions  ?  It  seems  to  me  that  this  cannot  long  be  de- 
.  bated  ;  the  point  is  too  clear.  The  agricultural  and 
mechanical  portion  of  the  community  are  to  be  relied 
upon  for  the  preservation  and  continuance  of  this 
Government.  The  great  mass  of  the  people,  the  great 
middle  class,  are  honest.  They  toil  for  their  support, 
accepting  no  favor  from  Government.  They  live  by 
labor.  They  do  not  live  by  consumption,  but  by  pro 
duction  ;  and  we  should  consume  as  small  a  portion 
of  their  production  as  it  is  possible  for  us  to  consume, 
leaving  the  producer  to  appropriate  to  his  own  use 


90  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

and  benefit  as  much  of  the  product  of  his  own  labor 
as  it  is  possible  in  the  nature  of  things  to  do.  The 
great  mass  of  the  people  need  advocates — men  who 
are  honest  and  capable,  who  are  willing1  to  defend 
them.  How  much  legislation  is  done  for  classes,  and 
how  little  care  seems  to  be  exercised  for  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  I  When  we  are  among  our  constit 
uents,  it  is  very  easy  to  make  appeals  to  the  people 
and  professions  of  patriotism;  and  then — I  do  not  mean 
to  be  personal  or  invidious — it  is  very  easy,  when  we 
are  removed  from  them  a  short  distance,  to  forget  the 
people  and  legislate  for  classes,  neglecting  the  inter 
est  of  the  great  mass.  The  mechanics  and  agricultur 
ists  are  honest,  industrious,  and  economical.  Let  it 
not  be  supposed  that  I  am  against  learning  or  educa 
tion,  but  I  might  speak  of  the  man  in  the  rural  dis 
tricts  in  the  language  of  Pope — 

'Unlearned,  he  knew  no  schoolman's  subtle  art, 
No  language,  but  the  language  of  the  heart ; 
By  nature  honest,  by  experience  wise  ; 
Healthy  by  temperance  and  exercise.' 

"  This  is  the  kind  of  men  whom  we  must  rely  upon. 
Let  your  public  lands  be  settled  ;  let  them  be  filled  up  ; 
let  honest  men  become  cultivators  and  tillers  of  the 
soil.  I  do  not  claim  to  be  prophetic,  but  I  have  some 
times  thought  that  if  we  would  properly  direct  our 
legislation  in  reference  to  our  public  policy,  the  time 
would  come  when  this  would  be  the  greatest  govern 
ment  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Go  to  the  great  valley 
at'  the  Mississippi  ;  take  the  western  slope  of  the 
mountains  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  ;  take  the  whole  area 
of  sins  country,  and  we  find  that  we  have  over  three 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  91 

million  square  miles.  Throw  off  one-fourth  as  unfit 
for  cultivation,  reducing  the  area  of  the  United  States 
to  fifteen  hundred  million  acres,  and  by  appropriating 
three  acres  to  a  person,  it  will  sustain  a  population  of 
over  five  hundred  million  people  ;  and  I  have  no  doubt, 
if  this  continent  was  strained  to  its  utmost  capacity, 
it  could  sustain  the.  entire  population  of  the  world. 
Let  us  go  on  and  carry  out  our  destiny  ;  interest  men 
in  the  soil ;  let  your  vacant  land  be  divided  equally, 
so  that  men  can  have  homes  ;  let  them  live  by  their 
own  industry  ;  and  the  time  will  come  when  this  will 
be  the  greatest  nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Let 
agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  maintain  the 
ascendency,  and  other  professions  and  pursuits  be 
subordinate  to  them,  for  on  these  two  all  others 
rest. 

"  Since  the  crucifixion  of  our  Saviour,  emigration 
has  been  westward  ;  and  the  poetic  idea  might  have 
started  long  before  it  did — 

'  Westward  the  star  of  empire  takes  its  way.' 

It  has  been  taking  its  way  westward.  The  United 
States  are  filling  up.  We  are  going  on  to  the  Pacific 
coast.  Let  me  raise  the  inquiry  here,  when,  in  the 
history  of  mankind,  in  the  progress  of  nations,  was 
there  any  nation  that  ever  reached  the  point  we  now 
occupy  ?  When  was  there  a  nation,  in  its  progress, 
in  its  settlement,  in  its  advance  in  all  that  constitutes 
and  makes  a  nation  great,  that  occupied  the  position 
we  now  occupy  ?  When  was  there  any  nation  that 
could  look  to  the  East  and  behold  the  tide  of  emigra 
tion  coming,  and,  at  the  same  time,  turn  around  and 


92 


look  to  the  mighty  \\Yst,  and  behold  tin-  tide  of  emi 
gration  approaching-  from  that  direction.  The  waves 
of  emigration  have  usually  been  running  in  one  direc 
tion,  but  we  find  the  tide  of  emigration  now  changed, 
and  we  are  occupying  a  central  position  on  the  globe. 
Emigration  is  coining  to  us  from  the  East  and  from 
the  West  ;  and  when  our  vacant  territory  shall  be 
tilled  up,  when  it  shall  reach  a  population  of  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  or  five  hundred  millions,  who  can  say 
what  will  be  our  destiny? 

"  When  our  railroad  system  shall  progress  on  pro 
per  principles,  extending  from  one  extreme  of  the 
country  to  the  other,  like  so  many  arteries  ;  when  our 
telegraphic  wires  shall  be  stretched  along  them  as 
the  nerves  in  the  human  frame,  and  they  shall  run  in 
parallel  lines,  and  be  crossed  at  right  angles,  until  the 
whole  globe,  as  it  were,  and  especially  this  great 
centre,  shall  be  covered  like  a  network  with  these  ar 
teries  and  nerves;  when  the  face  of  the  globe  shall 
flash  with  intelligence  like  the  face  of  man  ;  we,  oc 
cupying  this  important  point,  may  find  our  institutions 
so  perfected,  science  so  advanced,  that  instead  of  re 
ceiving  nations  from  abroad,  this  will  be  the  great 
sensorium  from  which  our  notions  of  religion,  our  no 
tions  of  government,  our  improvements  in  works  of 
every  description  shall  radiate  as  from  a  common 
centre,  and  revolutionize  the  world. 

"  Who  dares  say  that  this  is  not  our  destiny,  if  we 
will  only  permit  it  to  be  fulfilled  ?  Then  let  us  go  on 
with  this  great  work  of  interesting  men  in  becoming 
connected  with  the  soil  ;  interesting  them  in  remain 
ing  in  your  mechanic  shops  ;  prevent  their  accumula 
tion  in  the  streets  of  your  cities  ;  and  in  doing  this  you 


SERVICES    AND    SI'KKt'HKS.  93 

will  dispense  with  the  necessity  for  all  your  pauper 
system.  By  doing  this,  you  enable  each  community 
to  take  care  of  its  own  poor.  By  doing  this,  you  de 
stroy  and  break  down  the  great  propensity  that  exists 
with  men  to  hang,  and  loiter,  and  perish  about  the 
cities  of  the  Union,  as  is  done  now  in  the  older  coun 
tries. 

"  It  is  well  enoughjtMr.  President,  to  see  where  our 
public  lands  have  been  going.  There  seems  to  be  a 
great  scruple  now  in  reference  to  the  appropriation  of 
lands  tor  the  benefit  of  the  people  ;  i>ui.  iht*  Federal 
Government  has  been  very  liberal  heretofore  in  grant 
ing  lands  to  the  States  for  railroad  purposes.  We  can 
pass  law  after  law,  making  grant  after  grant  of  the 
public  lands  to  corporations,  without  alarming  any 
one  here.  We  have  already  granted  to  railroad  mo 
nopolies,  to  corporations,  twenty-four  million  two  hun 
dred  and  forty-seven  thousand  acres.  Those  grants 
hardly  meet  with  opposition  in  Congress  ;  but  it  seems 
to  be  very  wrong,  in  the  estimation  of  some,  to  grant 
lands  to  the  people  on  the  conditions  proposed  in  the 
bill  before  us.  We  find,  furthermore,  that  there  have 
been  granted  to  the  States,  as  swamp-lands — and 
some  of  these  lands  will  turn  out  to  be  the  most  pro 
ductive  on  the  globe — forty  million  one  hundred  and 
thirty-three  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty-five 
acres. 

"  In  relation  to  the  public  lands,  and  the  grants 
which  have  been  made  by  the  Government,  I  have 
obtained  from  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land- 
Office  several  tables,  which  I  now  submit. 


94  AXDBEW    JOUNSOX. 


Estimate  of  the  Quantities  of  Land  which  will  inure  to  the 
States  under  Grants  for  Railroads,  up  to  June  30,  1857 

States.  Acres.  Date  of  Law. 

Illinois 2,595,053 September  20,  1850. 

Missouri 1,815,435 June  10,  1852 ;  Feb.  9, 1853. 

Arkansas 1,465,297 February  9,  1853. 

Michigan 3,096,000 June  3,  1856. 

Wisconsin 1,622,800 June  3,  1856. 

Iowa 3,456,000 May  15,  1856. 

Louisiana 1,102,560 June  3  and  Aug.  11,  1856. 

Mississippi 950,400 August  11, 1856. 

Alabama 1,913,390 \  ^  *7'  Ju»e  3>  and  Au^' 

(11,   1856;    March  3,   1857. 

Florida 1,814,400 May  17,  1856. 

Minnesota 4,416,000 March  3,  1857. 

Total 24,247,335 


Statement  showing  the  Quantity  of  Swamp-land  approved  to  the 
several  States,  up  to  30M  June,  1857. 

States.  Acres. 

Ohio 25,650.71 

Indiana 1,250.937.51 

Illinois 1,369,140.73 

Missouri 3,615,966.57 

Alabama 2,595.51 

Mississippi 2,834,796.11 

Louisiana 7,601,535.46 

Michigan 5,465,232.41 

Arkansas 5.920.024.94 

Florida 10,396,982.47 

Wisconsin..                  1,650,712.10 


Total 40,133,564.51 


SEEVICES  AND   SPEECHES. 


95 


Estimate  of  unsold  and  unappropriated  Lands  in  each  of  the 
States  and  Territories,  including  surveyed  and  unsurveyed, 
offered  and  unoffered  Lands,  on  the  30^  June,  1856. 


States  and  Territories.  Acres. 

Ohio 43,558.34 

Indiana 36,307.41 

Illinois 511,662.85 

Missouri 13,365,319.81 

Alabama 9,459,367.74 

Mississippi 5,519,390.69 

Louisiana 5,933,373.83 

Michigan 10,056,298.06 

Arkansas 15,609,542.84 

Florida 18,067,072.75 

Iowa    6,237,661.03 

Wisconsin 15,222,549.50 

California 113,682,436.00 

Minnesota  Territory 82,502,608.33 

Oregon  "        118,913,241.31 

Washington     "         76,444,055.25 

New  Mexico     "         155,210,804.00 

Utah  "        134,243,733.00 

Nebraska          «        206,984,747.00 

Kansas  "        76,361,058.00 

Indian  "         42,892,800.00 


Total 1,107,297,572.74 


Number  of 
Quarter-sections. 

273 

227 

3,198 

83,533 

59,121 

34,496 

37,083 

62,852 

97,560 

112,919 

38,985 

95,141 

710,515 

515,641 

743,208 

477,775 

970,067 

839,023 

1,293,655 

477,256 

268,080 


6,920,607 


"  The  table  giving  the  estimated  quantity  of  all  our 
public  lands,  shows  the  feasibility  of  the  plan  in  favor 
of  which  I  have  been  speaking.  I  know  that  some 
gentlemen  from  the  Southern  States  object  to  this  bill 
because  they  fear  that  it  will  carry  emigrants  from 
the  free  States  into  those  States.  Well,  sir,  on  this 
point  I  have  drawn  some  conclusions  from  figures, 


96  AXIJRKW    .JU11.NSON. 

which  I  will  present  to  the  Senate.  In  the  State  of 
Alabama  there  are  now  undisposed  of  fifty-nine  thou 
sand  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  quarter-sections  of 
land.  I  ask  my  Southern  friends,  would  it  not  be 
better  if  a  man  in  the  State  of  Alabama  should  select 
a  quarter-section  there,  and  take  the  two  hundred  dol 
lars  it  would  have  cost  him,  and  expend  it  there,  even 
though  it  might  be  inferior  land,  than  to  compel  him 
to  pay  $1.25  an  acre,  and  emigrate  from  the  State  of 
Alabama  to  a  place  where  b*j  could  get  better  land  ? 
If  you  compel  him  to  pay  tbp  higher  price,  it  becomes 
his  interest  to  leavv  his  nariv<'  Stnt^  ;  but  by  permit- 
ring  him  to  take  the  land  ;mti  rxprud  <xi  its  improve 
ment  what  h(-  would  utli«M"wi><j  have  t<>  pay,  and  what 
it  would  cost  hiiii  to  move,  tht  chances  are  that  he 
will  remain  where  he  is.  In  the  State  of  Mississippi 
there  are  thirty-four  thousand  four  hundred  and  nine 
ty-six  quarter-sections  ;  in  Louisiana,  thirty-seven 
thousand  ;  in  Arkansas,  ninety-seven  thousand  ;  in 
Florida,  one  hundred  and  twelve  thousand.  Alto 
gether,  the  quarter-sections  of  public  lands  belong 
ing  to  the  Government  amount  to  six  million  nine 
hundred  and  twenty  thousand.  How  feasible  the  plan 
is  !  T  have  shown,  too,  that  it  would  take  over  six 
hundred  years  to  dispose  of  the  public  lands  at  the 
rate  we  have  been  disposing  of  them,  and  that  if  you 
take  one  million  quarter-sections  and  have  them 
settled  and  cultivated,  you  will  obtain  more  revenue, 
and  you  will  enhance  the  remaining  public  lands 
more  than  the  value  of  those  the  Government  gives. 

"  I  live  in  a  Southern  State  ;  and,  if  I  know  myself, 
I  am  as  good  a  Southern  man  as  any  one  who  lives 
within  tin-  borders  of  the  South  It  seems  to  be 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  97 

feared  that  by  this  bill  we  compel  men  to  go  on  the 
lands.  I  want  to  compel  no  man  to  go.  I  want  to 
leave  each  and  every  man  to  be  controlled  by  his  own 
-inclination,  by  his  own  interest,  and  not  to  force  him  ; 
but  is  it  statesmanlike,  is  it  philanthropic,  is  it  Chris 
tian,  to  keep  a  man  in  a  State,  and  refuse  to  let  him 
go,  because,  if  he  does  go,  he  will  help  to  populate 
some  other  portion  of  the  country  ?  If  a  man  lives 
in  the  county  in  which  I  live,  and  he  can,  by  cross 
ing  the  line  into  another  county,  better  his  condition, 
I  say  let  him  go.  If,  by  crossing  the  boundary  of  my 
State  and  going  into  another,  he  can  better  his  condi 
tion,  I  say  let  him  go.  If  a  man  can  go  from  Tennes 
see  into  Illinois,  or  Louisiana,  or  Mississippi,  or  Ar 
kansas,  or  any  other  State,  and  better  his  condition, 
let  him  go.  I  care  not  where  he  goes,  so  that  he  lo 
cates  himself  in  this  great  area  of  freedom,  becomes 
attached  to  our  institutions,  and  interested  in  the 
prosperity  and  welfare  of  the  country.  I  care  not 
where  he  goes,  so  that  he  is  under  the  protection  of 
our  Stars  and  Stripes.  I  say,  let  him  go  where  he 
can  better  the  condition  of  himself,  his  wife,  and  chil 
dren  ;  let  him  go  where  he  can  receive  the  greatest 
remuneration  for  his  toil  and  for  his  labor.  What 
kind  of  a  policy  is  it  to  say  that  a  man  shall  be  locked 
up  where  he  was  born,  and  shall  be  confined  to  the 
place  of  his  birth  ? 

"  Take  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  represented  by 
the  honorable  senator  before  me* — and  I  have    no 
doubt  it  is  his  intention  to  represent  that  people  to 
their  satisfaction — would  it  have  been  proper  to  re 
quire  the  people  of  North  Carolina,  from  her  early 
*  Mr.  Clingman. 
5 


98  ANDREW    JOHNSON". 

settlement  to  the  present  time,  to  be  confined  within 
her  boundaries  ?  Would  they  not  have  looked  upon 
it  as  a  hard  sentence  ?  Would  they  not  have  looked 
upon  it  as  oppressive  and  cruel  ?  North  Carolina  has 
supplied  the  Western  States  with  a  large  proportion 
of  her  population,  for  the  reason  that  by  going1  West 
they  could  better  their  condition.  Who  would  pre 
vent  them  from  doing  it  ?  Who  would  say  to  the 
poor  man  in  North  Carolina,  that  has  no  land  of  his 
own  to  cultivate,  that  lives  upon  some  barren  angle, 
or  some  piny  plain,  or  in  some  .other  State  upon  some 
stony  ridge,  that  lie  must  plough  and  dig  the  land 
appointed  to  him  by  his  landlord,  and  that  he  is  not 
to  emigrate  to  any  place  where  he  can  better  his  con 
dition  ?  What  is  his  prospect  ?  He  has  to  live  poor; 
he  has  to  live  hard  ;  and,  in  the  end,  when  he  dies, 
poverty,  want,  is  the  only  inheritance  he  can  leave 
his  children.  There  is  no  one  who  has  a  higher 
appreciation  of  North  Carolina  than  I  have;  she  is  my 
native  State.  I  found  it  to  be  my  interest  to  emigrate, 
and  I  should  have  thought  it  cruel  and  hard  if  I  had 
been  told  that  I  could  not  leave  her  boundary.  Al 
though  North  Carolina  did  not  afford  ine  the  advan 
tages  of  education,  though  I  cannot  speak  in  thci 
language  of  the  schoolmen,  and  call  her  my  cherishing 
mother,  yet,  in  the  language  of  Cowper,  '  with  all  hei 
faults,  I  love  her  still.'  She  is  still  my  mother  ;  she 
is  my  native  State;  and  I  love  her  as  such,  and  I  love 
her  people  too.  ]>ut  what  an  idea  is  it  to  present,  as 
influencing  the  action  of  a  statesman,  that  people  may 
not  emigrate  from  one  State  to  another  !  Sir,  I  say 
let  a  man  go  anywhere  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
United  States  where  he  can  better  his  condition. 


SERVICES    AM)    SPEECHES.  99 

"  Mr.  President,  if  I  entertained  the  notions  that 
some  of  my  friends  who  oppose  this  bill  do,  I  should 
be  a  more  ardent  advocate  of  its  policy  than  I  am 
now,  if  that  were  possible.  My  friend  from  Alabama* 
entertains  some  strange  notions  in  reference  to  de 
mocracy  and  the  people  ;  and  in  his  speech  on  the 
fisheries  bill,  he  gave  this  proposition  a  kind  of  side- 
blow,  a  lick  by  indirection.  I  do  not  object  to  that ; 
but  if  I  entertained  his  opinions,  I  should  be  a  more 
determined  arid  zealous  advocate  of  the  policy  of  this 
bill  than  I  am  now,  if  that  were  possible.  In  his 
speech  upon  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  that  senator, 
in  speaking  of  the  powers  of  the  convention  which 
framed  the  Constitution,  said  : 

"  '  In  my  opinion,  they  would  have  acted  in  stricter 
accordance  with  the  spirit  and  genius  of  our  institu 
tions  if  they  had  not  submitted  it  in  whole  or  in  part 
to  the  popular  vote.  Our  governments  are  republics, 
not  democracies.  The  people  exercise  their  sov 
ereignty,  not  in  person  at  the  ballot-box,  but  through 
agents,  delegates,  or  representatives.  Our  fathers 
founded  republican  governments  in  preference  to  de 
mocracies,  not  so  much  because  it  would  be  impracti 
cable  as  because  it  would  be  unwise  and  inexpedient 
for  the  people  themselves  to  assemble  and  adopt 
laws.' 

"  I  have  always  thought  the  general  idea  had  been 
that  it  was  not  practicable  to  do  every  thing  in  a  strict 
democratic  sense,  and  that  it  was  more  convenient  for 
the  people  to  appear  through  their  delegates.  But 
the  senator  said  further  : 

*  Mr.  Clay. 


100  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

"  '  They  were  satisfied,  from  reading  and  reflection, 
of  the  truth  of  Mr.  Madison's  observation  about  pure 
democracies,  that  they  "  have  ever  been  spectacles  of 
turbulence  and  contention;  have  ever  been  found  in 
compatible  with  personal  security,  or  the  rights  of 
property;  and  have,  in  general,  been  as  short  in  their 
lives  as  they  have  been  violent  in  their  deaths." 
*  *  *  *  *  * 

"  '  They  knew  that  a  large  body  of  men  is  more 
liable  to  be  controlled  by  passion  or  by  interest  than 
a  single  individual,  and  is  more  apt  to  sacrifice  the 
rights  of  the  minority,  because  it  can  be  done  with 
more  impunity.  Hence  they  endeavored  to  impose 
restraints  upon  themselves.  Hence  they  committed 
the  making  of  all  their  laws,  organic  or  municipal, 
to  their  delegates  or  representatives,  whose  crimes 
they  could  punish,  whose  errors  they  could  correct, 
and  whose  powers  they  could  reclaim. 

"  '  The  great  security  of  our  rights  of  life,  liberty, 
and  propcrt}'  is  in  the  responsibility  of  those  who 
make  and  of  those  who  execute  the  law.  Establish 
as  a  principle  that,  to  give  sanction  to  law,  it  must 
be  approved  by  a  majority  at  the  ballot-box,  and  you 
take  away  this  security  and  surrender  those  rights  to 
the  most  capricious,  rapacious,  and  cruel  of  tyrants. 
I  regret  to  sec  the  growing  spirit  in  Congress  and 
throughout  the  country  to  democratize  our  Govern 
ment  ;  to  submit  every  question,  whether  pertaining 
to  organic  or  municipal  laws,  to  the  vote  of  the 
people.  This  is  sheer  radicalism  ;  it  is  the  Red  Re 
publicanism  of  revolutionary  France,  which  appealed 
to  the  sections  on  all  occasions,  and  not  the  Ameri 
can  Republicanism  of  our  fathers.  Thoir  republican.- 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  101 

ism  was  stable  and  conservative  ;  this  is  mutable 
and  revolutionary.  Theirs  afforded  a  shield  for  the 
minority;  this  gives  a  sword  to  the  majority.  Theirs 
dei'ended  the  rights  of  the  weak  ;  this  surrenders 
them  to  the  power  of  the  strong.  God  forbid  that 
the  dernagogism  of  this  day  should  prevail  over  the 
philanthropic  and  philosophic  statesmanship  of  our 
fathers.' 

"  In  the  same  speech  the  senator  said  : 
"  '  Property  is  the  foundation  of  every  social  fabric. 
To  preserve,  protect,  and  perpetuate  rights  of  prop 
erty,  society  is  formed  and  government  is  framed.' 

"  Now,  if  I  entertained  these  notions,  I  should  un 
questionably  go  for  the  homestead  bill.  I  am  free  to 
say,  here,  that  I  do  not  hold  the  doctrine  advanced  by 
the  honorable  gentleman  from  Alabama  to  the  extent 
that  he  goes.  I  believe  the  people  are  capable  of 
self-government.  I  think  they  have  demonstrated  it 
most  clearly  ;  and  I  do  not  think  the  senator's  history 
of  democracy  states  the  case  as  it  should  be.  I  pre 
sume  in  the  senator's  own  State  the  people  acted 
directly  upon  their  Constitution  at  the  ballot-box. 
That  is  the  organic  law.  If  they  did  not  there,  they 
have  done  so  in  most  of  the  States  of  the  Union  ;  not, 
perhaps,  in  the  original  formation  of  their  govern 
ments,  but  as  the  people  have  gone  on  and  advanced 
in  popular  government.  The  honorable  senator  seems 
to  be  opposed  to  democratizing — in  other  words,  he 
is  opposed  to  popularizing  our  institutions  ;  he  is 
afraid  to  trust  the  control  of  things  to  the  people  at 
the  ballot-box.  Why,  sir,  the  organic  law  which 
confers  all  the  power  upon  your  State  legislatures, 
creates  the  different  divisions,  different  departments 


102  ANDREW    JOHXSOX. 

of  the  State.  The  Government  is  controlled  at  the 
ballot-box,  and  the  doctrine  set  forth  in  the  Constitu 
tion  of  Alabama  is,  that  the  people  have;  a  right  to 
abolish  and  change  their  form  of  government  when 
they  think  proper.  The  principle  is  clearly  recog 
nized  ;  and  on  this  my  honorable  friend  and  myself 
differ  essentially.  I  find  a  similar  doctrine  laid  down 
in  a  pamphlet  which  I  have  here  : 

"'In  the  convention  that  framed  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  Gouverneur  Morris  said,  that 
"Property  is  the  main  object  of  society."  Mr.  King 
said,  "Property  is  the  primary  object  of  society."  Mr. 
Butler  contended  strenuously  that  "  Property  was  the 
only  just  measurer  of  representation.  This  was  the 
great  object  of  government;  the  great  cause  of  war; 
the  great  means  of  carrying  it  on."  Mr.  Madison  said, 
that  "  in  future  times  a  great  majority  of  the  people 
will  not  only  be  without  landed,  but  any  other  sort  of 
property.  These  will  either  combine  under  the  influ 
ence  of  their  common  situation — in  which  case  the 
right  of  property  and  the  public  liberty  will  not  be 
secure  in  their  hands — or,  what  is  more  probable, 
they  will  become  the  tools  of  opulence  and  ambition." 
Gouverneur  Morris  again  said,  "  Give  the  votes  to  the 
people  who  have  no  property,  and  they  will  sell  them 
to  the  rich,  who  will  be  able  to  buy  them.  We  should 
not  confine  our  attention  to  the  present  moment.  The 
time  is  not  far  distant  when  this  country  will  abound 
with  mechanics  and  manufacturers,  who  will  receive 
their  bread  from  their  employers.  Will  such  men  be 
the  secure  and  faithful  guardians  of  liberty?"  Madi 
son  remarks,  that  those  who  opposed  the  property 
basis  of  representation  did  so  on  the  ground  that  tho 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  103 

number  of  people  was  a  fair  index  to  the  amount  of 
property  in  any  district.' 

"These  are  not  notions  entertained  by  me;  but  they 
are  important  as  the  notions  of  some  of  our  public 
men  at  the  early  formation  of  our  Government.  I 
entertain  no  such  notions.  If,  however,  the  senator 
from  Alabama  holds  that  property  is  the  main  object 
and  basis  of  society,  he,  above  all  other  men,  ought 
to  go  for  this  bill,  so  as  to  place  every  man  in  the 
possession  of  a  home  and  an  interest  in  his  country. 
The  very  doctrine  that  he  lays  down  appeals  to  him 
trumpet-tongued,  and  asks  him  to  place  these  men  in 
a  condition  where  they  can  be  relied  upon.  His  argu 
ment  is  unanswerable,  if  it  be  true,  in  favor  of  the 
homestead  bill.  It  is  taking  men  out  of  a  dependent 
condition;  it  is  preventing  this  Government  from  sink 
ing  into  that  condition  that  Rome  did  in  her  decline. 
I  ask  him  now,  if  he  entertains  these  opinions,  as 
promulgated  in  his  speech,  to  come  up  and  join  with 
us  in  the  passage  of  this  bill,  and  make  every  man, 
if  possible,  a  property-holder,  interested  in  his  coun 
try;  give  him  a  basis  to  settle  upon,  and  make  him 
reliable  at  the  ballot-box. 

"  His  speech  is  a  fine  production.  I  heard  it  with 
interest  at  the  time  it  was  delivered.  I  hold  the 
opposite  to  him.  Instead  of  the  voice  of  the  people 
being  the  voice  of  a  demon,  I  go  back  to  the  old  idea, 
and  I  favor  the  policy  of  popularizing  all  our  free 
institutions.  We  are  Democrats,  occupying  a  posi 
tion  here  from  the  South;  we  start  together,  but  we 
turn  our  backs  upon  each  other  very  soon.  His  policy 
would  take  the  Government  further  from  the  people. 
I  go  in  a  direction  to  popularize  it,  and  bring  it  nearer 


104  ANDKEW    JOHNSON". 

to  the  people.  There  is  m>  belter  illustration  of  this 
than  that  old  maxim,  which  is  adopted  in  all  our  ordi 
nary  transactions,,  that  'if  yon  want  a  tiling-  done, 
send  somebody  to  do  it;  if  yon  want  it  well  done,  go 
and  do  it  yourself.'  It  applies  with  as  great  force  in 
governmental  affairs  as  in  individual  affairs;  and  if 
we  can  advance  and  make  the  working's  and  operation 
of  our  Government  familiar  to  and  understood  by  the 
people,  the  better  for  us.  I  say,  when  and  wherever 
it  is  practicable,  let  the  people  transact  their  own 
business;  bring  them  more  in  contact  with  their  Gov 
ernment,  and  then  yon  will  arrest  expenditure,  you 
will  arrest  corruption,  you  will  have  a  purer  and 
better  Government. 

"I  hold  to  the  doctrine  that  man  can  be  advanced; 
that  man  can  be  elevated;  that  man  can  be  exalted 
in  his  character  and  condition.  We  are  told,  on  high 
authority,  that  he  is  made  in  the  image  of  his  God; 
that  he  is  endowed  with  a  certain  amount  of  divinity. 
And  I  believe  man  can  be  elevated;  man  can  become 
more  and  more  endowed  with  divinity;  and  as  he  does, 
he  becomes  more  Godlike  in  his  character  and  capable 
of  governing  himself.  Let  us  go  on  elevating  our 
people,  perfecting  our  institutions,  until  democracy 
shall  reach  such  a  point  of  perfection  that  we  can 
exclaim  with  truth  that  the  voice  of  the  people  is  the 
voice  of  God. 

"As  I  said,  I  have  entertained  different  notions  from 
those  inculcated  by  the  honorable  senator.  If  I  enter 
tained  his  notions,  then  I  should  be  for  the  homestead. 
I  hold  in  my  hand  a  document,  by  which  it  was  pro 
claimed  in  1776— 

"  'We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident .;  that  all 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  105. 

men  are  created  equal;  that  they  are  endowed  by 
their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights;  that 
among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happi 
ness;  that  to  secure  these  rights  governments  are 
instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from 
the  consent  of  the  governed.7 

"  Is  property  laid  down  there  as  the  great  element 
and  the  great  basis  of  society  ?  It  is  only  one ;  and 
Mr.  Jefferson  laid  it  down  in  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  that  it  was  a  self-evident  truth  that  govern 
ment  was  instituted — for  what  ?  To  protect  men  in 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  That  is 
what  Mr.  Jefferson  said.  And  who  indorsed  it  ?  The 
men  who  framed  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
who  did  not  go  upon  the  idea  that  property  was  the 
only  element  of  society.  The  doctrine  established  by 
those  who  proclaimed  our  independence  was,  that 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  were  three 
great  ends  of  government,  and  not  property  exclu 
sively.  When  the  declaration  came  forth  from  the 
old  Congress  Hall,  it  came  forth  as  a  column  of  fire 
and  light.  It  declared  that  the  security  of  life  and 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  were  the  three 
great  ends  of  government.  Mr.  Jefferson  says,  in  his 
first  inaugural  address,  which  is  the  greatest  paper 
that  has  ever  been  written  in  this  Government — arid 
I  commend  it  to  the  reading  of  those  who  say  they 
are  Democrats,  by  way  of  refreshing  their  memories, 
that  they  may  understand  what  are  correct  demo 
cratic  principles — 

"  '  Sometimes  it  is  said  that  man  cannot  be  trusted 
with  the  government  of  himself.  Can  he,  then,  be 
trusted  with  the  government  of  others  ?  Or  have  we 
5* 


106  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

found  angels  in  the  form  of  king's  to  govern  him  ? 
Let  history  answer  this  question.' 

"  Mr.  Jefferson  seems  to  think  man  can  be  trusted 
with  the  government  of  himself.  In  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  he  does  not  embrace  property  ;  in 
fact,  it  is  not  referred  to.  But  I  am  willing  to  con 
cede  that  it  is  one  of  the  primary  and  elementary 
principles  in  government.  Mr.  Jefferson  declares  the 
great  truth  that  man  is  to  be  trusted  ;  that  man  is 
capable  of  governing  himself,  and  that  he  has  a  right 
to  govern  himself.  In  the  same  inaugural  address 
of  Mr.  Jefferson,  wo  find  the  passage  usually  attributed 
to  Washington's  farewell  address,  which  has  got 
universal  circulation — that  we  should  pursue  our  own 
policy;  that  we  should  promote  our  own  institutions, 
maintaining  friendly  relations  with  all,  entangling 
alliances  with  none.  Let  us  carry  out  the  doctrines 
of  the  inaugural  address  of  Mr.  Jefferson ;  let  us  carry 
out  the  great  principles  laid  down  in  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  which  this  homestead  bill  embraces. 

"  But  I  wish  to  call  attention  to  some  other  author 
ity  on  this  subject.  As  contradistinguished  from  the 
views  of  the  senator  from  Alabama,  I  present  the 
views  of  a  recent  writer*  as  in  accordance  with  my 
own  notions  of  democracy  : 

"  '  The  democratic  party  represents  the  great  prin 
ciple  of  progress.  It  is  onward  and  outward  in  its 
movements.  It  has  a  heart  for  action,  and  motives 
for  a  world.  It  constitutes  the  principle  of  diffusion, 
and  is  to  humanity  what  the  centrifugal  force  is  to 
the  revolving  orbs  of  a  universe.  What  motion  is  to 

*  Lamartine. 


SERVICES  AND   SPEECHES.  107 

them,  democracy  is  to  principle.  It  is  the  soul  in 
action.  It  conforms  to  the  providence  of  God.  It  has 
confidence  in  man,  and  an  abiding-  reliance  in  his  high 
destiny.  It  seeks  the  largest  liberty,  the  greatest 
good,  and  the  surest  happiness.  It  aims  to  build  up 
the  great  interests  of  the  many,  to  the  least  detriment 
of  the  few.  It  remembers  the  past,  without  neglect 
ing  the  present.  It  establishes  the  present,  without 
fearing  to  provide  for  the  future.  It  cares  for  the 
weak,  while  it  permits  no  injustice  to  the  strong.  It 
conquers  the  oppressor,  and  prepares  the  subjects  of 
tyranny  for  freedom.  It  melts  the  bigot's  heart  to 
meekness,  and  reconciles  his  mind  to  knowledge.  It 
dispels  the  clouds  of  ignorance  and  superstition,  and 
prepares  the  people  for  instruction  and  self-respect. 
It  adds  wisdom  to  legislation,  and  improved  judgment 
to  government.  It  favors  enterprise  that  yields  a 
reward  to  the  many  and  an  industry  that  is  permanent. 
It  is  the  pioneer  of  humanity — the  conservator  of 
nations.  It  fails  only  when  it  ceases  to  be  true  to 
itself.  Vox  populi,  vox  Dei,  has  proved  to  be  both 
a  proverb  and  a  prediction. 

"  '  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  democracy  may 
not  be  advanced  under  different  forms  of  government. 
Its  own,  it  should  be  remembered,  is  the  highest  con 
ventional  form,  that  which  precedes  the  lofty  inde 
pendence  of  the  individual  spoken  of  by  the  Apostlo 
to  the  Hebrews,  who  will  need  government  but  from 
the  law  which  the  Lord  has  placed  in  his  heart. 

"  '  In  one  respect,  all  nations  are  governed  upon  the 
same  principle;  that  is,  each  adopts  the  form  which  it 
has  the  understanding  and  the  power  to  sustain.  There 
is  in  all  a  greater  or  lesser  power,  and  it  requires  no 


108  ANDREW    JO.HXSON. 

profound  speculation  to  decide  which  will  control.  A 
tyrannical  dictator  may  do  more  to  advance  the  true 
interests  of  democracy,  than  a  moderate  sovereign 
who  is  scrupulously  guarded  by  an  antiquated  con 
stitution;  for  the  tyrant  adds  vigor  to  his  opponents 
by  his  deeds  of  oppression. 

"  '  The  frequent  question  as  to  what  form  of  govern 
ment  is  best,  is  often  answered  without  any  reference 
to  condition  or  application  of  principles.  There  can 
be  properly  but  one  answer,  and  yet  the  application 
of  that  answer  may  lead  to  great  diversity  of  views. 

"  '  When  it  is  asserted  that  the  democratic  form  of 
government  is  unquestionably  the  best,  it  must  be 
considered  that  the  answer  not  only  designates  the 
form  preferred,  but  implies  a,  confident  belief  in  the 
advanced  condition  of  the  people  who  are^to  be  the  sub 
jects  of  it.  It  premises  the  capacity  for  self-control, 
and  a-  corresponding  degree  of  knowledge  in  regard 
to  the  rights,  balances,  and  necessities  of  society.  It 
involves  a  discriminating  appreciation  of  the  varied 
duties  of  the  man,  the  citizen,  and  the  legislator.  It 
presupposes  a  reasonable  knowledge  of  the  legitimate 
means  and  ends  of  government,  enlarged  views  of 
humanity,  and  of  the  elements  of  national  existence. 

"  '  The  democratic  form  of  government  is  the  best, 
because  its  standard  of  moral  requisition  is  the  highest. 
It  claims  for  man  a  universality  of  interest,,  liberty,, 
and  justice.  It  is  Christianity  with  its  mountain 
beacons  and  guides.  It  is  the  standard  of  Deity  based 
on  the  eternal  principles  of  truth,  passing  through  and 
vising  above  the  yielding  clouds  of  ignorance,  into  the 
regions  of  infinite  wisdom.  As  we  live  on,  this. 
"  yiUav  of  cloud  by  day,  and  the  pillar,  of  lire  by 


SERVICES    AXD    SPEECHES.  109 

night,"  will  not  be  taken  from  before  the  people,  but 
stand  immovable,  immeasurable,  and  in  the  brightness 
of  its  glory  continue  to  shed  increasing  light  on  a 
world  and  a  universe. 

"  '  The  great  objects  of  knowledge  and  moral  cul 
ture  of  the  people  are  among  its  most  prominent  pro 
visions.  Practical  religion  and  religious  freedom  are 
the  sunshine  of  its  growth  and  glory.  It  is  the  sub 
lime  and  mighty  standard  spoken  of  by  the  Psalmist, 
who  exclaims,  in  the  beautiful  language  of  poetical 
conception — 

"  '  The  Lord  is  high  above  all  nations,  and  his 
glory  above  the  heavens.  Who  is  like  unto  the  Lord 
our  God,  who  dwelleth  on  high  ;  who  humbleth  him 
self  to  behold  the  things  that  are  in  heaven  and  in 
the  earth  ?  He  raiseth  up  the  poor  out  of  the  dust, 
and  lifteth  the  needy  out  of  the  dunghill,  that  he  may 
set  him  with  princes,  even  with  the  princes  of  the  people. 

"  '  Democracy  is  a  permanent  element  of  progress, 
and  is  present  everywhere,  whatever  may  be  the 
temporary  form  of  the  ruling  power.  Its  inextinguish 
able  fires  first  burst  forth  in  an  empire,  ancj,  its  wel 
come  lights  cheer  the  dark  domains  of  despotism. 
While  tyrants  hate  the  patriot  and  exile  him  from 
their  contracted  dominions,  the  spirit  of  democracy 
invests  him  as  a  missionary  of  humanity,  and  inspires 
him  with  an  eloquence  which  moves  a  world.  Its 
lightning  rays  cannot  be  hidden  ;  its  presence  cannot 
be  banished.  Dictators,  kings,  and  emperors,  are  but 
its  servants  ;  and,  as  man  becomes  elevated  to  the 
dignity  of  self-knowledge  and  control,  their  adminis 
tration  ceases.  Their  rule  indicates  an  imperfect 
state  of  society,  and  may  be  regarded  as  the  moral 


110  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

props  of  the  builder,  necessary  only  to  sustain  a 
people  in  their  different  periods  of  growth.  One  can 
not  speak  of  them  lightly,  nor  indulge  in  language 
that  should  seem  to  deny  their  fitness  as  the  instru 
ments  of  good  in  the  hands  of  Providence.  Their  true 
position  may  be  best  gathered  from  the  prediction 
which  is  based  upon  a  knowledge  of  the  past  and 
present  condition  of  man — that  all  kingdoms  and 
empires  must  cease  whenever  a  people  have  a  know 
ledge  of  their  rights,  and  acquire  the  power  of  a 
practical  application  of  principles.  This  is  the  work 
of  time.  It  is  the  work  of  constant,  repeated  trial. 
The  child  that  attempts  to  step  a  hundred  times  and 
falls  ;  the  new-fledged  bird  that  tries  its  feeble  wings 
again  and  again  before  it  is  able  to  sweep  the  circle 
of  the  sky  with  its  kindred  flocks,  indicate  the  simple 
law  upon  which  all  strength  depends,  whether  it  be 
the  strength  of  an  insect,  or  the  strength  of  a  nation. 
" '  Because  a  people  do  not  succeed  in  changing 
their  form  of  government,  even  after  repeated  trials, 
we  are  not  to  infer  that  thc}^  are  indulging  in  imprac 
ticable  experiments,  nor  that  they  will  be  disappoint 
ed  in  ultimately  realizing  the  great  object  of  their 
ambition.  Indeed,  all  failures  of  this  class  are  indica 
tive  of  progressive  endeavor.  They  imply  an  increas 
ing  knowledge  of  the  true  dignity  of  man,  and  a 
growing  disposition  to  engage  in  new  and  more  and 
more  difficult  endeavors.  These  endeavors  are  but 
the  exercise  of  a  nation,  and  without  thorn  no  people 
can  ever  command  the  elements  of  national  existence 
and  self-control.  But  inquiries  in  regard  to  so  exten 
sive  a  subject  should  be  shaped  within  more  practical 
limits.  . 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  Ill 

'"The  triumphs  of  democracy  constitute  the  way- 
marks  of  the  world.  They  demand  no  extraneous 
element  of  endurance  for  permanency,  no  fictitious 
splendor  for  embellishment,  no  borrowed  greatness 
for  glory.  Originating  in  the  inexhaustible  sources 
..of  power,  moved  by  the  spirit  of  love  and  liberty,  and 
guided  by  the  wisdom  which  comes  from  the  instincts 
and  experience  of  the  immortal  soul,  as  developed  in 
the  people,  democracy  exists  in  the  imperishable  prin 
ciple  of  progress,  and  registers  its  achievements  in 
the  institutions  of  freedom,  and  in  the  blessings  which 
characterize  and  beautify  the  realities  of  life.  Its 
genius  is  to  assert  and  advance  the  true  dignity  of 
mind,  to  elevate  the  motives  and  affections  of  man, 
and  to  extend,  establish,  protect,  and  equalize  the 
common  rights  of  humanity. 

"  'Condorcet,  although  an  aristocrat  by  genius  and 
by  birth,  became  a  Democrat  from  philosophy/" 

"A  few  years  since  a  Whig  member  of  the  United 
States  Senate  sneeringly  asked  Senator  Allen,  of  Ohio, 
the  question,  '  What  is  democracy  ?'  The  following 
was  the  prompt  reply  : 

"  'Democracy  is  a  sentiment  not  to  be  appalled,  cor 
rupted,  or  compromised.  It  knows  no  baseness  ;  it 
cowers  to  no  danger  ;  it  oppresses  no  weakness  ; 
destructive  only  of  despotism,  it  is  the  sole  conserva 
tor  of  liberty,  labor,  and  property.  It  is  the  senti 
ment  of  freedom,  of  equal  rights,  of  equal  obligations 
— the  law  of  nature  pervading  the  law  of  the  land.' 

"  'What,  sir,'  asked  Patrick  Henry,  in  the  Virginia 
Convention  of  1778,  'is  the  genius  of  democracy? 
Let  me  read  that  clause  of  the  Bill  of  Rights  of  Vir 
ginia  which  relates  to  this  (third  clause):  That  gov- 


112  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

eminent  is  or  ought  to  be  instituted  for  the  common 
benefit,  protection,  and  security  of  the  people,  nation. 
or  community  :  of  all  the  various  modes  and  forms  of 
government,  that  is  best  which  is  capable  of  produ 
cing-  the  greatest  degree  of  happiness  and  safety,  and 
is  most  effectually  secured  against  the  dangers  of 
maladministration  :  and  that  when  any  government 
shall  be  found  inadequate  or  contrary  to  those  prin 
ciples,  or  contrary  to  those  purpose?,  a  majority  of 
the  community  hath  an  indubitable,  inalienable,  and 
indefeasible  right  TO  reform,  alter,  or  abolish  it.  in 
such  manner  as  shall  be  judged  the  most  conducive  to 
the  public  weal.'* 

"  In  the  same  convention  Judge  Marshall  said — 

"  '"What  are  the  favorite  maxims  of  democracy  1  A 
strict  observance  of  justice  and  public  faith,  and  a 
steady  adherence  to  virtue  : — these,  sir.  are  the  prin 
ciples  of  a  good  government. "t 

"  *  Democracy.'  says  the  late  Mr.  Legare.  of  South 
Carolina,  in  an  article  published  in  the  New  York 
Review,  -in  the  hicrh  and  onlv  true  sense  of  that 
much-abused  word,  is  the  destiny  of  nations,  because 
it  is  the  spirit  of  Christianity.'; 

"  I  have  referred- to  the  remarks  of  the  senator  from 
Alabama  to  show  that,  if  his  doctrines  were  true,  he 
should  go  for  the  passage  of  the  homestead  bill,  be 
cause,  in  order  to  sustain  the  Government  on  the  prin 
ciples  laid  down  by  him.  every  man  should  be  a  prop 
erty-holder.  I  want  it  understood  that  I  enter  a 
disclaimer  to  the  doctrine  presented  by  him.  and  merely 

*  Elliot's  Debates,  vol.  iii..  p.  77.  f  Ibid.,  p.  223. 

J  Ibid ,  voL  r.,  p  297. 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  113 

present  his  argument  to  show  why  he,  above  all 
others,  ought  to  go  for  the  homestead  policy.  I  refer 
to  Mr.  Legare,  Judge  Marshall,  and  the  author  of  the 
'  History  of  Democracy,'  as  laying  down  my  notions 
of  democracy,  as  contradistinguished  from  those  laid 
down  by  the  distinguished  senator  from  Alabama. 
We  are  both  members  from  the  Democratic  party.  I 
claim  to  be  a  Democrat,  East,  West,  IS  forth,  or  South, 
or  anywhere  else.  I  have  nothing  to  disguise.  I 
have  referred  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and 
to  Mr.  Jefferson's  inaugural  address,  for  the  purpose 
of  showing  that  democracy  means  something  very  dif 
ferent  from  what  was  laid  down  by  the  distinguished 
senator  from  Alabama.  I  furthermore  refer  to  these 
important  documents  to  show  that  property  is  not  the 
leading  element  of  government  and  society.  Mr. 
Jefferson  lays  down,  as  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  are  the  lead 
ing  essentials  of  government. 

"  But  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  dwell  longer  on  that  ; 
and  I  wish  to  pass  to  the  speech  of  the  senator  from 
South  Carolina.*  I  disagree  in  much  that  was  said 
by  that  distinguished  senator  ;  and  I  wish  to  show 
that  he  ought  to  go  for  the  homestead  policy,  so  as  to 
interest  every  man  in  the  country.  If  property  is  the 
leading  and  principal  element  on  which  society  rests  ; 
if  property  is  the  main  object  for  which  government 
was  created,  the  gentlemen  who  are  the  foremost,  the 
most  zealous,  and  most  distinguished  advocates  of 
that  doctrine  should  sustain  the  homestead  policy. 
The  honorable  senator  from  South  Carolina,  in'  his 

*  Mr.  Hammond- 


AND  HEW    JOHNSON. 

speech  on  the  Lecompton  Constitution,  by  inuendo 
or  indirection,  hud  a  hit  at  the  homestead — a  side- 
blow.  He  said  : 

" '  Your  people  are  awaking.  They  are  coming 
here.  They  are  thundering  at  our  doors  for  home 
steads,  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  for 
nothing  ;  and  Southern  senators  are  supporting  them. 
Nay,  they  are  assembling,  as  I  have  said,  with  arms 
in  their  hands,  and  demanding  work  at  $1,000  a  }^ear 
for  six  hours  a  day.  Have  you  heard  that  the  ghosts 
of  Mendoza  and  Torquemada  are  stalking  in  the 
streets  of  your  great  cities  ?  That  the  Inquisition  is 
at  hand?' 

"  If  this  be  true,  as  assumed  by  the  distinguished 
senator  from  South  Carolina,  is  it  not  an  argument 
why  men  should  be  placed  in  a  condition  where  they 
will  not  clamor,  where  they  will  not  raise  mobs  to 
threaten  Government,  and  demand  homesteads  ?  In 
terest  these  men  in  the  country;  give  them  homes,  01 
let  them  take  homes;  let  them  become  producers;  let 
them  become  better  citizens;  let  them  be  more  reliable 
at  the  ballot-box.  I  want  to  take  them  on  their 
ground,  their  principle,  that  property  is  the  main  ele 
ment  of  society  and  of  government;  and  if  their  doc 
trine  be  true,  the  argument  is  still  stronger  in  favor 
of  the  homestead  than  the  position  I  assume.  But 
the  distinguished  senator  from  South  Carolina  goes  on: 

"  '  In  all  social  systems  there  must  be  a  class  to  do 
the  menial  duties,  to  perform  the  drudgery  of  life. 
That  is,  a  class  requiring  but  a  low  order  of  intellect, 
und.  but  little  skill.  Its  requisites  are  vigor,  docility, 
fidi'lity.  Such  a  class  you  must  have,  or  you  would 
n<>t  have  that  other  class  which  leads  progress,  civili- 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  115 

zation,  and  refinement.  It  constitutes  the  very  mud 
sill  of  society  and  of  political  government;  and  you 
might  as  well  attempt  to  build  a  house  in  the  air,  as 
to  build  either  the  one  or  the  other  except  on  this 
mudsill. 

"  '  The  poor  ye  always  have  with  you;  for  the  man 
who  lives  by  daily  labor,  and  scarcely  lives  at  that, 
arid  who  has  to  put  out  his  labor  in  the  market,  and 
take  the  best  he  can  get  for  it — in  short,  your  whole 
hireling  class  of  manual  laborers  and  "  operatives,"  as 
you  call  them,  are  essentially  slaves.  The  difference 
between  us  is,  that  our  slaves  are  hired  for  life  and 
well  compensated;  there  is  no  starvation,  no  begging, 
no  want  of  employment  among  our  people;  and  not 
too  much  employment  either.  Yours  are  hired  by  the 
day,  not  cared  for,  and  scantily  compensated,  which 
may  be  proved  in  the  most  painful  manner,  at  any 
hour,  in  any  street  in  any  of  your  large  towns.  Why, 
you  meet  more  beggars  in  one  day,  in  any  single 
street  of  the  city  of  New  York,  than  you  would  meet 
in  a  lifetime  in  the  whole  South.  We  do  not  think 
that  whites  should  be  slaves  either  by  law  or  neces 
sity.' 

"  In  this  portion  of  the  senator's  remarks  I  concur. 
I  do  not  think  whites  should  be  slaves;  and  if  slavery 
is  to  exist  in  this  country,  I  prefer  black  slavery  to 
white  slavery.  But  what  I  want  to  get  at  is,  to  show 
that  my  worthy  friend  from  South  Carolina  should 
defend  the  homestead  policy,  and  the  impolicy  of 
making  the  invidious  remarks  that  have  been  made 
here  in  reference  to  a  portion  of  the  population  of  the 
United  States.  Mr.  President,  so  far  as  I  am  con 
cerned,  I  feel  that  I  can  afford  to  speak  what  are  my 


116  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

sentiments.  I  urn  no  aspirant  for  any  thing  on  the 
face  of  God  Almighty's  earth.  I  have  reached  the 
summit  of  my  ambition.  The  acme  of  all  my  hopes 
has  been  attained,  and  I  would  not  give  the  position  I 
occupy  here  to-day  for  any  other  in  the  United  States. 
Hence,  I  say,  I  can  afford  to  speak  what  I  believe  to 
be  true. 

"  In  one  sense  of  the  term,  we  are  all  slaves.  A  man 
is  a  slave  to  his  ambition;  he  is  a  slave  to  his  avarice; 
he  is  a  slave  to  his  necessities;  and,  in  enumerations 
of  this  kind,  you  can  scarcely  find  any  man,  high  or 
low  in  society,  but  who,  in  some  sense,  is  a  slave;  but 
they  are  not  slaves  in  the  sense  we  mean  at  the  South, 
and  it  will  not  do  to  assume  that  every  man  who  toils 
for  his  living  is  a  slave.  If  that  be  so,  all  arc  slaves  ; 
for  all  must  toil  more  or  less,  mentally  or  physically. 
But  in  the  other  sense  of  the  term,  we  are  not  slaves. 
Will  it  do  to  tissnme  that  the  man  who  labors  with 
his  hands,  every  man  who  is  an  operative  in  a  manu 
facturing  establishment  or  a  shop,  is  a  slave  ?  Xo, 
sir  ;  that  will  not  do.  Will  it  do  to  assume  that  every 
man  who  does  not  own  slaves,  but  has  to  live  by  his 
own  labor,  is  a  slave  ?  That  will  not  do.  If  this 
were  true,  it  would  be  very  unfortunate  for  a  good 
many  of  us,  and  especially  so  for  me.  I  am  a  laborer 
with  my  hands,  and  I  never  considered  myself  a  slave, 
in  the  acceptation  of  the  term  slave  in  the  South.  I 
do  own  some  ;  I  acquired  them  by  my  industry,  by 
the  labor  of  my  hands.  In  that  sense  of  the  term  I 
should  have  been  a  slave  while  I  was  earning  them 
with  the  labor  of  my  hands." 

"  Mr.  HAMMOND.     Will  the  senator  define  a  slave  ? 

"  Mr.  Joiixrfoy.      What  we  understand  to  be  a  slave 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  llT 

in  the  South  is  a  person  who  is  held  to  service  during- 
his  or  her  natural  life,  subject  to,  and  under  the  con 
trol  of,  a  master  who  has  the  right  to  appropriate*  the 
products  of  his  or  her  labor  to  his  own  use.  The  ne 
cessities  of  life,  and  the  various  positions  in  which  a 
man  may  be  placed,  operated  upon  by  avarice,  gain, 
or  ambition,  may  cause  him  to  labor  ;  but  that  does 
not  make  a  slave.  How  many  men  are  there  in  society 
who  go  out  arid  work  with  their  own  hands,  who  reap 
in  the  field  and  mow  in  a  meadow,  who  hoe  corn,  who 
work  in  the  shops  !  Are  they  slaves  ?  If  we  were 
to  go  back  and  follow  out  this  idea,  that  every  oper 
ative  and  laborer  is  a  slave,  we  should  find  that  we 
have  had  a  great  many  distinguished  slaves  since  the 
world  commenced.  Socrates,  who  first  conceived  the 
idea  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  pagan  as  he  was, 
labored  with  his  own  hands  ;  yes,  wielded  the  chisel 
and  the  mallet,  giving  polish  and  finish  to  the  stone  ; 
he  afterwards  turned  to  be  a  fashioner  and  constructor 
of  the  mind.  Paul,  the  great  expounder,  himself  was 
a  tent-maker,  and  worked  with  his  hands  :  was  he  a 
slave?  Archimedes,  who  declared  that,  if  he  had  a 
place  on  wThich  to  rest  the  fulcrum,  with  the  power 
of  his  lever  he  could  move  the  world  :  was  he  a  slave  ? 
Adam,  our  great  father  and  head,  the  lord  of  the  world, 
was  a  tailor  by  trade  :  I  wonder  if  he  was  a  slave  ? 
"  When  we  talk  about  laborers  and  operatives,  look 
at  the  columns  that  adorn  this  chamber,  and  see  their 
finish  and  style.  We  are  lost  in  admiration  at  the 
architecture  of  your  buildings,  and  their  massive  col 
umns.  We  can  speak  with  admiration.  What  would 
it  have  been  but  for  hands  to  construct  it  ?  Was  the 
artisan  who  worked  upon  it  a  slave  ?  Let  us  go  to 


118  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

the  South  and  see  how  the  matter  stands  there.  Is 
every  man  that  is  not  a  slaveholder  to  be  denominated 
a  slave  because  ho  labors  ?  Why  indulge  in  such  a 
notion  ?  The  argument  cuts  at  both  ends  of  the  lin<\ 
and  this  kind  of  doctrine  docs  us  infinite  harm  in  the 
South.  There  are  operatives  there  ;  there  are  labor 
ers  there  ;  there  are  mechanics  there.  Are  they 
slaves  ?  Who  is  it  in  the  South  that  gives  us  title 
and  security  to  the  institution  of  slavery  ?  Who  is 
it,  let  me  ask  every  Southerner  around  me  ?  Suppose, 
for  instance,  we  take  the  State  of  South  Carolina — 
and  there  are  many  things  about  her  and  her  people 
that  I  admire — we  find  that  the  384,984  slaves  in 
South  Carolina  are  owned  by  how  many  whites  ? 
They  are  owned  by  25,556.  Take  the  State  of  Ten 
nessee,  with  a  population  of  800,000—239,000  slaves 
are  owned  by  33,864  persons.  The  slaves  in  the  State 
of  Alabama  are  owned  by  29,295  whites.  The  whole 
number  of  slaveholders  in  all  the  Slave  States,  when 
summed  up,  makes  347,000,  owning  three  and  a  half 
million  slaves.  The  white  population  in  South 
Carolina  is  274,000  ;  the  slaves  greater  than  the 
whites.  The  aggregate  population  of  the  State  is 
668,507. 

"  The  operatives  in  South  Carolina  are  68,549.  Now, 
take  the  25,000  slave-owners  out,  and  a  large  propor 
tion  of  the  people  of  South  Carolina  work  with  their 
hands.  Will  it  do  to  assume  that,  in  the  State  of 
South  Carolina,  the  State  of  Tennessee,  the  State  of 
Alabama,  and  the  other  slaveholding  States,  al!  those 
who  do  not  own  slaves  arc  slaves  themselves  ?  Will 
this  assumption  do  ?  What  does  it  do  at  home  in  our 
own  States  ?  It  has  a  tendency  to  raise  prejudice,  to 


SERVICES   AND  SPEECHES.  119 

engender  opposition  to  the  institution  of  slavery  itself. 
Yet  our  own  folks  will  do  it." 

Mr.  MASON:  "  Will  the  senator  from  Tennessee  allow 
me  to  interrupt  him  for  a  moment  ?" 

Mr.  JOHNSON  :  "  Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  MASON:  "  The  senator  is  making  an  exhibition  of 
the  very  few  slaveholders  in  the  Southern  States,  in 
proportion  to  the  white  population,  according-  to  the 
census.  That  is  an  exhibition  which  has  been  made 
before  by  senators  who  sit  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Chamber.  They  have  brought  before  the  American 
people  what  they  allege  to  be  the  fact,  shown  by  the 
census,  that  of  the  white  population  in  the  Southern 
States,  there  are  very  few  who  are  slaveholders.  The 
senator  from  Tennessee  is  now  doing  the  same  thing. 
I  understand  him  to  say  there  are  but  some — I  do  not 
remember  exactly  the  number,  but  I  think  three 
thousand,  or  a  fraction  more — of  the  whites  in  the 
slaveholding  States,  who  own  three  million  slaves  ; 
but  he  made  no  further  exposition.  I  ask  the  senator 
to  state  the  additional  fact,  that  the  holders  of  the 
slaves  are  the  heads  of  families  of  the  white  popula 
tion  ;  and  neither  that  senator  nor  those  whose  ex 
ample  he  has  followed  on  the  other  side,  has  stated 
the  fact  that  the  white  population  in  the  Southern 
States,  as  in  the  other  States,  embraces  men,  women, 
and  children.  He  has  exhibited  only  the  number  of 
slaveholders  who  are  heads  of  families." 

Mr.  JOHNSON  :  "  The  senator  says  I  have  not  made  an 
exhibit  of  the  fact.  The  senator  interrupted  me  before 
I  had  concluded.  I  gave  way  as  a  matter  of  courtesy 
to  him.  Perhaps  his  speech  would  have  had  no  place, 
if  he  had  waited  to  hear  me  a  few  moments  longer." 


120  ANDREW  JOHNSON. 

Mr.  MASON  :  "  I  shall  wait.  I  thought  the  senator 
had  passed  that  point.'7 

Mr.  JOHNSON  :  "  I  was  stating1  the  fact,  that  accord 
ing  to  the  census  tables  three  hundred  and  fort}T-seven 
thousand  white  persons  owned  the  whole  number  of 
slaves  in  the  Southern  States.  I  was  about  to  state 
that  the  families  holding  these  slaves  might  average 
six  or  eight  or  ten  persons,  all  of  whom  are  interested 
in  the  products  of  slave-labor,  and  many  of  these 
slaves  are  held  by  minors  and  by  females.  I  was  not 
alluding  to  the  matter  for  the  purpose  the  senator 
from  Virginia  seems  to  have  intimated,  and  should 
have  been  much  obliged  to  him  if  he  had  waited  until 
he  heard  my  application  of  these  figures.  I  was 
going  to  show  that  expressions  like  those  to  which  I 
have  alluded  operate  against  us  in  the  South,  and  I 
was  following  the  example  of  no  one.  I  was  taking 
these  facts  from  the  census  tables,  which  were  pub 
lished  by  order  of  Congress,  to  show  the  bad  policy 
and  injustice  of  declaring  that  the  laboring  portion  of 
our  population  were  slaves  and  menials.  Such  dec 
larations  should  not  be  applied  to  the  people  either 
North  or  South.  I  wished  to  say  in  that  connection, 
that,  in  my  opinion,  if  a  few  men  at  the  North  and  at 
the  South,  who  entertain  extreme  views  on  the  subject 
of  slavery,  and  desire  to  keep  up  agitation,  were  out 
of  the  way,  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  North  and 
South,  would  go  on  prosperously  and  harmoniously 
under  our  institutions. 

****** 

"  Sir,  carry  out  the  homestead  policy,  attach  the 
people  to  the  soil,  induce  them  to  love  the  Govern 
ment,  and  you  will  have  the  North  reconciled  to  the 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  121 

South,  and  the  South  to  the  North,  and  we  shall  not 
have  invidious  doctrines  preached  to  stir  up  bad  feel 
ings  in  either  section.  I  know  that  in  my  own  State, 
and  in  the  other  Southern  States,  the  men  who  do  not 
own  slaves  are  among*  the  first  to  take  care  of  the 
institution.  They  will  submit  to  no  encroachment 
from  abroad,  no  interference  from  other  sections. 

"  I  have  said,  Mr.  President,  much  more  than  I  in 
tended  to  say,  and,  I  fear,  in  rather  a  desultory 
manner,  but  I  hope  I  have  made  myself  understood. 
I  heard  that  some  gentleman  was  going  to  offer  an 
amendment  to  this  bill,  providing  that  the  Govern 
ment  should  furnish  every  man  with  a  slave.  So  far 
as  I  am  concerned,  if  it  suited  him,  and  his  inclination 
led  him  that  way,  I  wish  to  God  every  head  of  a 
family  in  the  United  States  had  one  to  take  the 
drudgery  and  menial  service  off  his  family.  I  would 
have  no  objection  to  that ;  but  this  intimation  was 
intended  as  a  slur  upon  my  proposition.  I  want  that 
to  be  determined  by  the  people  of  the  respective 
States,  and  not  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 
I  do  not  want  this  body  to  interfere  by  inuendo  or  by 
amendment,  prescribing  that  the  people  shall  have 
this  or  the  other.  I  desire  to  leave  that  to  be  deter 
mined  by  the  people  of  the  respective  States,  and  not 
by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 

"I  hope,  Mr.  President,  that  this  bill  will  be  passed. 
I  think  it  involves  the  very  first  principles  of  the 
Government ;  it  is  founded  upon  statesmanship,  hu 
manity,  philanthropy,  and  even  upon  Christianity 
itself.  I  know  the  argument  has  been  made,  why 
permit  one  portion  of  the  people  to  go  and  take  some 
of  this  land  and  not  another  ?  The  law  is  in  general 
6 


122  ANDREW   JOIIXSOX. 

terms  ;  it  places  it  in  the  power  of  every  man  who 
will*  go,  to  take  a  portion  of  the  land.  The  Senator 
from  Alabama  suggests  to  me  that  a  person,  in  order 
to  get  the  benefit  of  this  bill,  must  prove  that  lie  is 
not  the  owner  of  other  land.  An  amendment  was 
yesterday  inserted  in  the  bill  striking  out  that  provi 
sion.  Then  it  plaees  all  on  an  equality  to  go  and 
take.  Why  should  this  not  be  done  ?  It  was  con 
ceded  yesterday  that  the  land  was  owned  by  the  peo 
ple.  There  are  over  three  million  heads  of  families 
in  the  United  States  ;  and  if  every  man  who  is  the 
head  of  a  family  were  to  take  a  quarter-section  of 
public  land,  there  would  still  be  nearly  four  million 
quarter-sections  left.  If  some  people  go  and  take 
quarter-sections,  it  does  not  interfere  with  the  rights 
of  others,  for  he  who  g-ocs  takes  only  a  part  of  that 
which  is  his,  and  takes  nothing  that  belongs  to  any 
body  else.  The  domain  belongs  to  the  whole  people  ; 
the  equity  is  in  the  great  mass  of  the  people  ;  the 
Government  holds  the  fee  and  passes  the  title,  but  the 
beneficial  interest  is  in  the  people.  There  arc,  as  I 
have  said,  two  quarter-sections  of  land  for  every  head 
of  a  family  in  the  United  States,  and  we  merely  pro 
pose  to  permit  a  head  of  a  family  to  take  one-half  of 
that  which  belongs  to  him. 

"  I  believe  the  passage  of  this  bill  will  strengthen 
the  bonds  of  the  Union.  It  will  give  us  a  better  vot 
ing  population,  and  just  in  proportion  as  men  become 
interested  in  property,  they  will  become  reconciled  to 
all  the  institutions  of  property  in  the  country,  in 
whatever  shape  they  may  exist.  Take  the  institution 
of  slavery,  for  instance :  would  you  rather  trust  it  to 
the  mercies  of  a  people  liable  to  be  ruled  by  the  mobs 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  123 

of  which  my  honorable  friend  from  South  Carolina 
spoke,  or  would  you  prefer  an  honest  set  of  landhold 
ers  ?  Which  would  be  the  most  reliable  ?  Which 
would  guarantee  the  greatest  security  to  our  institu 
tions,  when  they  come  to  the  test  of  the  ballot-box  ? 

"  Mr.  President,  I  hope  the  Senate  will  pass  this 
bill.  I  think  it  will  be  the  beginning  of  a  new  state 
of  things — a  new  era. 

"  So  far  as  I  am  concerned — I  say  it  not  in  any 
spirit  of  boasting  or  egotism — if  this  bill  were  passed, 
and  the  system  it  inaugurates  carried  out,  of  granting 
a  reasonable  quantity  of  land  for  a  man's  family,  and 
looking  far  into  the  future  I  could  see  resulting  from 
it  a  stable,  an  industrious,  a  hardy,  a  Christian,  a 
philanthropic  community,  I  should  feel  that  the  great 
object  of  my  little  mission  was  fulfilled.  All  that  I 
desire  is  the  honor  arid  the  credit  of  being  one  of  the 
American  Congress  to  consummate  and  to  carry  out 
this  great  scheme,  that  is  to  elevate  our  race  and  to 
make  our  institutions  more  permanent.  I  want  no 
reputation,  as  some  have  insinuated.  You  may  talk 
about  Jacobinism,  Red  Republicanism,  and  so  on.  I 
pass  by  such  insinuations  as  the  idle  wind,  which 
I  regard  not. 

"  I  know  the  motives  that  prompt  me  to  action.  I 
can  go  back  to  that  period  in  my  own  history  when 
I  could  not  say  that  I  had  a  home.  This  being  so, 
when  I  cast  my  eyes  from  one  extreme  of  the  United 
States  to  the  other,  and  behold  the  great  number  that 
are  homeless,  I  feel  for  them.  I  believe  this  bill  would 
put  them  in  possession  of  homes  ;  and  I  want  to  see 
them  realizing  that  sweet  conception  when  each  man 
can  proclaim,  '  I  have  a  home  ;  an  abiding-place  for 


12-i  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

my  wife  and  for  my  children  ;  I  am  not  the  tenant  of 
another;  I  am  my  cnv  :  iMiler;  and  I  will  move  accord 
ing-  to  my  cnvn  will,  ;; ~-\(l  not  at  the  dictation  of  an 
other.'  Yes,  Mr.  Presiv'jnt,  if  I  should  never  be  heard 
of  again  on  the  surface  of  God's  habitable  globe,  the 
proud  satisfaction  of  having  contributed  my  little  aid 
to  the  consummation  of  this  great  measure  is  all  the 
reward  I  desire. 

"  The  people  need  friends.  They  have  a  great  deal 
to  bear.  They  make  all  ;  they  do  all  ;  but  how  little 
they  participate  in  the  legislation  of  the  country  I 
All,  or  nearly  all,  of  our  legislation  is  for  corpora 
tions,  for  monopolies,  for  classes,  and  individuals;  but 
the  great  mass  who  produce  while  we  consume  are 
little  cared  for  ;  their  rights  and  interests  are  neg 
lected  and  overlooked.  Let  us,  as  patriots,  as  states 
men,  let  us,  as  Christians,  consummate  this  great 
measure,  which  will  exert  an  influence  throughout  the 
civilized  world  in  fulfilling'  our  destiny.  I  thank  the 
Senate  for  their  attention." 


SERVICES  AND  SPEECHES.        125 


CHAPTER  III. 

STATE    OF    THE    UNION. 

Two  distinguishing  qualities  of  President  John 
son's  mind  are  firmness  and  independence.  Con 
vinced  of  the  correctness  of  his  opinions,  he 
never  shrinks  from  their  natural  and  logical  con 
sequences.  Opposed  from  the  very  outset  of  his 
career  to  the  doctrine  of  the  right  of  a  State  to 
withdraw  at  pleasure  from  the  Federal  Union, 
when  the  great  and  eventful  crisis  came  he  was 
ready  to  meet  it  with  dauntless  courage  and 
unfaltering  faith.  He  broke  from  old  ties  of 
personal  and  political  associations  without  a 
moment's  hesitation,  and  threw  himself  into  the 
fight.  "  to  do  or  die"  in  defence  of  the  national 
flag  and  an  undivided  country. 

In  a  speech  delivered  in  the  Senate  the  5th 
and  6th  of  February,  1861,  after  certain  States 
had  formally  seceded  and  declared  themselves 
separate  and  foreign  communities,  he  seemed  to 
rise  with  the  occasion,  and  to  pour  forth  in  a 
stronger  tide  the  power  of  his  logic  and  the  thun 
der-roll  of  his  eloquence.  This  great  effort  was 
on  the  state  of  the  Union,  the  Senate  having 


126  AXDKEW    JOIIJSTSOX. 

under  consideration  the  message  of  the  President 
communicating  resolutions  of  the  Legislature  of 
Virginia.  Gladly  would  we  transcribe  the  whole 
of  this  able  speech,  in  the  course  of  which  the 
heresy  he  combated  was  cut  up  by  the  roots  and 
thrown  to  the  winds,  but  our  space  will  only  per 
mit  the  insertion  of  its  thrilling  and  soul-stirring 
conclusion : 

"  There  is  no  one  in  the  United  States  who  is  more 
willing-  to  do  justice  to  the  distinguished  senator  from 
Mississippi  than  myself ;  and  when  1  consider  his 
early  education  ;  when  I  look  at  his  gallant  services, 
finding  him  first  in  the  military  school  of  the  United 
States,  educated  by  his  Government,  taught  the  sci 
ence  of  war  at  the  expense  of  his  country — taught  to 
love  the  principles  of  the  Constitution  ;  afterwards 
entering  its  service,  fighting  beneath  the  Stars  and 
Stripes  to  which  he  has  so  handsomely  alluded,  win 
ning  laurels  that  are  green  and  imperishable,  and 
bearing  upon  his  person  scars  that  arc  honorable  ; 
some  of  which  have  been  won  at  home  ;  others  of 
which  have  been  won  in  a  foreign  clime,  and  upon 
other  fields — I  would  be  the  last  man  to  pluck  a  feather 
from  his  cap  or  a  single  gem  from  the  chaplct  that 
encircles  his  brow.  But  when  I  consider  his  early 
associations  ;  when  I  remember  that  he  was  nurtured 
by  this  Government ;  that  he  fought  for  this  Govern 
ment  ;  that  he  won  honors  under  the  flag  of  this  Gov 
ernment,  I  cannot  understand  how  ho  can  be  willing 
to  hail  another  banner,  and  turn  from  that  of  his  coun 
try,  under  which  he  has  won  laurels  and  received 
honors.  This  is  a  matter  of  taste,  however  ;  but  it 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  127 

seems  to  me  that,  if  I  could  not  unsheathe  my  sword 
in  vindication  of  the  flag  of  my  country,  its  glorious 
Stars  and  Stripes,  I  would  return  the  sword  to  its 
scabbard  ;  I  would  never  sheathe  it  in  the  bosom  of 
my  mother  ;  never  !  never  !  never  1" 

*  *  *  *  ***** 
"Sir,  I  intend  to  stand  by  that  flag,  and  by  the 
Union  of  which  it  is  the  emblem.  I  agree  with  Mr. 
A.  II.  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  '  that  this  Government  of 
our  fathers,  with  all  its  defects,  comes  nearer  the  ob 
jects  of  all  good  governments  than  any  other  on  the 
face  of  the  earth.' 

"  I  have  made  allusions  to  the  various  senators  who 
have  attacked  me,  in  vindication  of  myself.  I  have 
been  attacked  on  all  hands  by  some  five  or  six,  and 
may  be  attacked  again.  All  I  ask  is,  that,  in  making 
these  attacks,  they  meet  my  positions,  answer  my 
arguments,  refute  my  facts.  I  care  not  for  the  num 
ber  that  may  have  attacked  me ;  I  care  not  how  many 
may  come  hereafter.  Feeling  that  I  am  in  the  right, 
that  argument,  that  fact,  that  truth  are  on  my  side,  I 
place  them  all  at  defiance.  Come  one,  come  all  •  for 
I  feel,  in  the  words  of  the  great  dramatic  poet — 

'  Thrice  is  he  armed  that  hath  his  quarrel  just ; 
And  he  but  naked,  though  locked  up  in  steel, 
Whose  conscience  with  [treason]  is  corrupted.' 

"  I  have  been  told,  and  I  have  heard  it  repeated, 
that  this  Union  is  gone.  It  has  been  said  in  this 
chamber,  that  it  is  in  the  cold  sweat  of  death;  that, 
in  fact,  it  is  really  dead,  and  merely  lying  in  state 
waiting  for  the  funeral  obsequies  to  be  performed. 
If  this  be  so,  and  the  war  that  has  been  made  upon 


128  AXDItKU"    JOHN  SOX. 

iw»  in  consequence  of  advocating  the  Constitution  and 
the  Union  is  to  result  in  my  overthrow  and  in  my 
destruction  ;  and  that  flag,  that  glorious  flag,  the 
emblem  of  the  Union,  which  was  borne  by  Washing 
ton  through  a  seven-years'  struggle,  shall  be  struck 
from  the  Capitol  arid  trailed  in  the  dust  ;  when  this 
Union  is  interred,  I  want  no  more  honorable  winding- 
sheet  than  that  brave  old  flag,  and  no  more  glorious 
grave  than  to  be  interred  in  the  tomb  of  the  Union. 
[Applause  in  the  galleries.]  For  it  I  have  stood;  for 
it  I  will  continue  to  stand  ;  I  care  not  whence  the 
blows  come  ;  and  some  will  find,  before  this  contest 
is  over,  that  while  there  are  blows  to  be  given,  there 
will  be  blows  to  receive  ;  and  that,  while  others  can 
thrust,  there  are  some  who  can  parry.  God  preserve 
my  country  from  the  desolation  that  is  threatening 
her,  from  treason  and  traitors  ! 

'  Is  there  not  some  chosen  curse, 
Some  hidden  thunder  in  the  stores  of  heaven, 
Red  with,  uncommon  wrath,  to  blast  the  man 
Who  owes  his  greatness  to  his  country's  ruin  ¥ 

[Applause  in  the  galleries.] 

"  In  conclusion,  Mr.  President,  I  make  an  appeal  to 
the  conservative  men  of  all  parties.  You  see  tho 
posture  of  public  affairs  ;  you  see  the  condition  of 
the  country  ;  you  see  along  the  line  of  battle  tho 
various  points  of  conflict;  you  see  the  struggle  which 
the  Union  men  have  to  maintain  in  many  of  the  States.' 
You  ought  to  know  and  feel  what  is  necessary  to  sus 
tain  those  who,  in  their  hearts,  desire  the  preservation 
of  this  Union  of  States.  Will  you  sit  with  stoic  in- 
dift'ercnce,  and  see  those  who  are  willing  to  stand  by 


SERVICES   AND    SPEECHES.  129 

the  Constitution  and  uphold  the  pillars  of  the  Govern 
ment  driven  away  by  the  raging  surges  that  are  now 
sweeping  over  some  portions  of  the  country?  As 
conservative  men,  as  patriots,  as  men  who  desire  the 
preservation  of  this  great,  this  good,  this  unparalleled 
Government,  T  ask  you  to  save  the  country;  or  let 
the  propositions  be  submitted  to  the  people,  that  the 
heart  of  the  nation  may  respond  to  them.  I  have  an 
abiding  confidence  in  the  intelligence,  the  patriotism, 
and  the  integrity  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people  ; 
and  I  feel  in  my  own  heart  that,  if  this  subject  could 
be  got  before  them,  they  would  settle  the  question, 
and  the  Union  of  these  States  would  be  preserved." 
[Applause  in  the  galleries.] 
6* 


130  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

SPEECH  ON  THE  WAR  FOR  THE  UNION,  DELIVERED  IN 
THE   SENATE,   JULY   27,    1861. 

AT  last  came  the  armed  collision  between  the 
Federal  authority  and  the  Confederacy  of  the 
seceding  States.  The  latter  had  planted  their 
capital  at  Richmond,  had  organized  an  army,  and 
in  a  terrible  battle,  fought  21st  July,  1861,  had 
inflicted  a  signal  defeat  upon  the  Federal  forces 
upon  the  field  of  Manassas.  Amid  the  panic  and 
discouragement  that  followed  that  disastrous  dayf 
Andrew  Johnson  stood  steadfast  as  a  rock,  and 
displayed  a  resolution  worthy  of  a  Roman  sena 
tor  in  the  best  times  of  the  republic.  Only  six 
days  after  the  sanguinary  struggle,  and  while 
Washington  itself  was  in  danger  of  capture  by 
the  victorious  foe,  he  spoke  in  favor  of  the  joint, 
resolution  before  the  Senate  to  confirm  and  ap 
prove  certain  acts  of  President  Lincoln  for  sup 
pressing  insurrection  and  rebellion.  In  this 
speech  he  took  the  ground  that  the  present  con 
test  was  the  third  and  last  trial  of  the  country's 
strength.  The  first,  he  said,  was  in  gaining  her 
independence — the  second,  in  defending  herself 
against  foreign  invasion  in  the  war  of  1812 — the 


SERVICES  A:ND  SPEECHES.  131 

third  trial,  lie  averred,  was  now  upon  us ;  that  the 
nation  was  fighting  against  enemies  at  lioine — 
against  those  who  have  no  confidence  in  its  in 
tegrity  or  in  the  institutions  that  may  be  estab 
lished  under  its  organic  law : — whether  we  can 
succeed  in  putting  down  traitors  and  treason, 
and  in  establishing  the  great  fact  that  we  have  a 
Government,  with  sufficient  strength  to  maintain 
its  existence  against  whatever  combination  may 
oppose  its  constitutional  action. 

The  conclusion  of  this  noble  effort  is  peculiarly 
exciting,  and  stirs  the  blood  like  the  blast  of  a 
trumpet : 

"  We  love  the  Constitution  as  made  by  our  fathers. 
We  have  confidence  in  the  integrity  and  capacity  of 
the  people  to  govern  themselves.  We  have  lived 
entertaining  these  opinions  :  we  intend  to  die  enter 
taining  them.  The  battle  has  commenced.  The  Presi 
dent  has  placed  it  upon  the  true  ground.  It  is  an 
issue  on  the  one  hand  for  the  people's  Government, 
and  its  overthrow  on  the  other.  We  have  commenced 
the  battle  of  freedom.  It  is  freedom's  cause.  We 
are  resisting  usurpation  and  oppression.  We  will 
triumph  ;  we  must  triumph.  Right  is  with  .us.  A 
great  and  fundamental  principle  of  right,  that  lies  at 
the  foundation  of  all  things,  is  with  us.  We  may 
meet  with  impediments,  and  may  meet  with  disasters, 
and  here  and  there  a  defeat ;  but  ultimately  freedom's 
cause  must  triumph,  for — 

'  Freedom's  battle  once  begun, 
Bequeathed  from  bleeding  sire  to  son, 
Though  baffled  oft,  is  ever  won.' 


132  AXDKKW 

"Yes,  we  must  triumph.  Though  sometimes  I  raw- 
not  see  my  way  clear,  in  matters  of  this  kind  as  ia 
matters  of  religion,  when  my  facts  give  out,  when  my 
reason  fails  me,  I  draw  largely  upon  soy  faith.  My 
faith  is  strong,  based  on  the  eternal  principles  of 
right,  that  a  thing  so  monstrously  wrong  as  is  this 
rebellion  cannot  triumph.  Can  we  submit  to  it  ? 
Can  bleeding  justice  submit  to  it  ?  Is  the  Senate, 
lire  the  American  people,  prepared  to  give  up  the 
graves  of  Washington  and  Jackson,  to  be  encircled 
and  governed  and  controlled  by  a  combination  of 
traitors  and  rebels  I  I  say,  let  the  battle  go  on — it  is 
freedom's  cause — until  the  Stars  and  Stripes  (God 
bless  them  !)  shall  again  be  unfurled  upon  every 
cross-road,  and  from  every  house-top,  throughout  tho 
Confederacy,  north  and  south.  Let  the  Union  be  re 
instated  •  let  the  law  be  enforced  ;  let  the  Constitution 
be  supreme. 

"  If  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  were  to  give 
up  the  tombs  of  Washington  and  Jackson,  v;e  should 
bave  rising"  up  in  our  midst  another  Peter  the  Her 
mit,  in  a  much  more  righteous  cause — for  o-urs  in 
trnc,  while  his  was  a  delusion — \vho  would  appeal 
to  the  American  people,  and  point  to  the  tombs  of 
Washington  and  Jackson,  in  the  possession  of  those 
who  are  worse  than  the  infidel  and  the  Turk  who  helrl 
the  Holy  Sepulchre.  I  believe  the  American  people 
would  start  of  their  own.  accord,  when  appealed  to,  to 
redeem  the  graves  of  Washington  and  Jackson  ant] 
.Jefferson,  and  all  the  other  patriots  who  are  lying 
within  the  limits  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  I  do 
not  believe  they  would  stop  the  march,  until  agam 
the-  (lag  uf  this  Union  should  be  placed  over  the  graves 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  133 

of  those  distinguished  men.  There  will  be  an  uprising. 
Do  riot  talk  about  Republicans  now;  do  not  talk  about 
Democrats  now  ;  do  not  talk  about  Whigs  or  Ameri 
cans  now  :  talk  about  your  country,  and  the  Consti 
tution,  and  the  Union.  Save  that  j  preserve  the 
integrity  of  the  Government  ;  once  more  place  it 
erect  among  the  nations  of  the  earth  ;  and  then,  if  we 
want  to  divide  about  questions  that  may  arise  in  our 
midst,  we  have  a  Government  to  divide  in. 

"  I  know  it  has  been  said  that  the  object  of  this 
war  is  to  make  war  on  Southern  institutions.  I  have 
been  in  free  States  and  I  have  been  in  slave  States, 
and  I  thank  God  that,  so  far  as  I  have  been,  there  has 
been  one  universal  disclaimer  of  any  such  purpose. 
It  is  a  war  upon  no  section  ;  it  is  a  war  upon  no 
peculiar  institution  ;  but  it  is  a  war  for  the  integrity 
of  the  Government,  for  the  Constitution,  and  the 
supremacy  of  the  laws.  That  is  what  the  nation 
understands  by  it. 

"  The  people  whom  I  represent  appeal  to  the  Gov 
ernment  and  to  the  nation  to  give  us  the  constitutional 
protection  that  we  need.  I  am  proud  to  say  that  I 
have  met  with  every  manifestation  of  that  kind  in  the 
Senate,  with  only  a  few  dissenting  voices.  I  am 
proud  to  say,  too,  that  I  believe  old  Kentucky  ( God 
bless  her  !)  will  ultimately  rise  and  shake  off  the 
stupor  which  has  been  resting  upon  her  ;  and  instead 
of  denying  us  the  privilege  of  passing  through  her 
borders,  and  taking  arms  and  munitions  of  war  to 
enable  a  downtrodden  people  to  defend  themselves, 
will  not  only  give  us  that  privilege,  but  will  join  us 
and  help  us  in  the  work.  The  people  of  Kentucky 
love  the  Union  ;  they  love  the  Constitution  ;  they 


AXDllEW    JOHXSOX. 

have  no  fault  to  find  with  it ;  but  in  that  State  they 
have  a  duplicate  to  the  Governor  of  ours.  When  we 
look  all  around,  we  see  how  the  Governors  of  the  differ 
ent  States  have  been  involved  in  this  conspiracy — the 
most  stupendous  and  gigantic  conspiracy  that  was 
ever  formed,  and  as  corrupt  and  as  foul  as  that  at 
tempted  by  Catiline  in  the  days  of  Rome.  We  know 
it  to  be  so.  Have  we  not  known  men  to  sit  at  their 
desks  in  this  Chamber,  using  the  Government's  sta 
tionery  to  write  treasonable  letters  ;  and  while  re 
ceiving  their  pay,  sworn  to  support  the  Constitution 
and  sustain  the  law,  engaging  in  midnight  conclaves 
to  devise  ways  and  means  by  which  the  Government 
arid  the  Constitution  should  be  overthrown  ?  The 
charge  was  made  and  published  in  the  papers.  Many 
things  we  know  that  we  cannot  fully  prove  ;  but  we 
know  from  the  regular  steps  that  were  taken  in  this 
work  of  breaking  up  the  Government,  or  trying  to 
break  it  up,  that  there  was  system,  concert  of  action. 
It  is  a  scheme  more  corrupt  than  the  assassination 
planned  and  conducted  by  Catiline  in  reference  to  the 
Roman  Senate.  The  time  has  arrived  when  we  should 
show  to  the  nations  of  the  earth  that  we  are  a  nation 
capable  of  preserving  our  existence,  and  give  them 
evidence  that  we  will  do  it. 

"  I  have  already  detained  the  Senate  much  longer 
than  I  intended  when  I  rose,  and  I  shall  conclude  in  a 
few  words  more.  Although  the  Government  has  met 
with  a  little  reverse  within  a  short  distance  of  this 
city,  no  one  should  be  discouraged  and  no  heart  should 
be  dismayed.  It  ought  only  to  prove  the  necessity  of 
bringing  forth,  and  exerting  still  more  vigorously,  the 
power  of  the  Government  in  maintenance  of  the  Con- 


SERVICES  AND   SPEECHES.  135 

stitution  and  the  laws.  Let  the  energies  of  the  Gov 
ernment  be  redoubled,  and  let  it  go  on  with  this  war — 
not  a  war  upon  sections,  not  a  war  upon  peculiar  in 
stitutions  anywhere  ;  but  let  the  Constitution  and  the 
Union  be  inscribed  on  its  banners,  and  the  supremacy 
and  enforcement  of  the  laws  be  its  watchword.  Then 
it  can,  it  will,  go  on  triumphantly.  We  must  succeed. 
This  Government  must  not,  cannot  fail.  Though  your 
flag  may  have  trailed  in  the  dust ;  though  a  retrograde 
movement  may  have  been  made  ;  though  the  banner 
of  our  country  may  have  been  sullied,  let  it  still  be 
borne  onward  ;  and  if,  for  the  prosecution  of  this  war 
in  behalf  of  the  Government  and  the  Constitution,  it 
is  necessary  to  cleanse  and  purify  that  banner,  I  say 
let  it  be  baptized  in  fire  from  the  sun  and  bathed  in  a 
nation's  blood  1  The  nation  must  be  redeemed  ;  it 
must  be  triumphant.  The  Constitution — which  is 
based  upon  principles  immutable,  and  upon  which 
rest  the  rights  of  man  and  the  hopes  and  expecta 
tions  of  those  who  love  freedom  throughout  the  civi 
lized  world — must  be  maintained." 


136  ANDREW    JOHNSON". 


CHAPTEK   V. 

SPEECH  ON  THE  PROPOSED  EXPULSION  OF  MR.  BRIGHT, 
DELIVERED  IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 
JAN.  31,  1862. 

THE  Senate  Laving  under  consideration  the  fol 
lowing  resolution,  submitted  by  Mr.  Wilkinson  on 
the  16th  of  December,  1861,  and  which  had  been 
reported  upon  adversely  by  the  Committee  on  the 
Judiciary  : 

"  Whereas,  Hon.  Jesse  D.  Bright,  heretofore,  on 
the  1st  day  of  March,  1861,  wrote  a  letter,  of 
which  the  following  is  a  copy  : 

"  '  MY  DEAR  SIR  :  Allow  me  to  introduce  to  your  ac 
quaintance  my  friend,  Thomas  B.  Lincoln,  of  Texas. 
.He  visits  your  capital  mainly  to  dispose  of  what  ho 
regards  a  great  improvement  in  firearms.  I  recom 
mend  him  to  your  favorable  consideration  as  a  gentle 
man  of  the  first  respectability,  and  reliable  in  every 
respect. 

"  '  Very  truly  yours,  JESSE  1).  BRIGHT. 

"'To  Ilirt  Excellency  JEFFKKN-JN  DAVIS, 

"  'Prescient  of  the  Confederation  of  States.' 


SERVICES    AND    Sl'El-X'IiES.  137 

iclicreas  we  believe  the  said  letter  is  evi 
dence  of  disloyalty  to  the  United  States,  and  is 
calculated  to  give  aid  and  comfort  to  the  public 
enemies ;  therefore, 

"  Be  it  resolved,  That  the  said  Jesse  D.  Bright 
is  expelled  from  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States." 

Mr.  Johnson  said  : 

"Mr.  President,  when  this  resolution  for  the  ex 
pulsion  of  the  senator  from  Indiana  was  first  pre 
sented  to  the  consideration  of  the  Senate,  it  was 
not  my  intention  to  say  a  single  word  upon  it.  Pre 
suming  that  action  would  be  had  upon  it  at  a  very 
early  day,  I  intended  to  content  myself  with  casting 
a  silent  vote.  But  the  question  has  assumed  such  a 
shape  that,  occupying  the  position  I  do,  I  cannot  con 
sent  to  record  my  vote  without  giving  some  of  the 
reasons  that  influence  my  action. 

"  I  am  no  enemy  of  the  senator  from  Indiana.  I 
have  no  personally  unkind  feelings  towards  him.  I 
never  had  any,  and  have  none  now.  So  far  as  my 
action  on  this  case  is  concerned,  it  will  be  controlled 
absolutely  and  exclusively  by  public  considerations, 
and  with  no  reference  to  partisan  or  personal  feeling. 
I  know  that  since  the  discussion  commenced,  an  inti 
mation  has  been  thrown  out,  which  I  was  pained  to 
hear,  that  there  was  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  some 
to  hound  down  the  senator  from  Indiana.  Sir,  I  know 
that  I  have  no  disposition  to  'hound'  any  man.  I 
would  to  God  that  I  could  think  it  otherwise  than 
necessary  for  me  to  say  a  single  word  upon  this  ques 
tion,  or  even  to  cast  a  vote  upon  it.  So  far  as  I  know, 


138  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

there  has  never  been  any  unkind  feeling*  between  the 
senator  and  myself  from  the  time  we  made  our  advent 
into  public  life  down  to  this  moment  Although  party 
and  party  associations  and  party  considerations  influ 
ence  all  of  us  more  or  less — and  I  do  not  pretend  to 
be  free  from  the  influence  of  party  more  than  others— 
I  know,  if  I  know  myself,  that  no  such  considerations 
influence  me  now.  Not  many  years  ago  there  was  a 
contest  before  the  Senate  as  to  his  admission  as  a 
senator  from  the  State  of  Indiana ;  we  all  remember 
the  struggle  that  took  place.  I  will  not  say  that  the 
other  side  of  the  House  were  influenced  by  party  con 
siderations  when  the  vote  upon  that  question  of  ad 
mission  took  place;  but  if  my  memory  serves  me  cor 
rectly,  there  was  upon  one  side  of  the  chamber  a 
nearly  strict  party  vote  that  he  was  not  entitled  to 
his  seat,  while  on  the  other  side  his  right  was  sus 
tained  entirely  by  a  party  vote.  I  was  one  of  those 
who  voted  for  the  senator's  admission  to  a  seat  upon 
this  floor  under  the  circumstances.  I  voted  to  let  him 
into  the  Senate,  and  I  am  constrained  to  say  that,  be 
fore  his  term  has  expired,  I  am  compelled  to  vote  to 
expel  him  from  it.  In  saying  this,  I  repeat  that  if  I 
know  myself,  and  I  think  I  do  as  well  as  ordinary  men 
know  themselves,  I  cast  this  vote  upon  public  consider 
ations  entirely,  and  not  from  party  or  personal  feeling. 
"  Mr.  President,  I  hold  that  under  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  we  clearly  have  the  power  to  ex 
pel  a  member,  and  that,  too,  without  our  assuming 
the  character  of  a  judicial  body.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
have  articles  of  impeachment  preferred  by  the  othor 
House  ;  it  is  not  necessary  to  organize  ourselves  into 
a  c<>urt  for  the  purpose  of  trial;  but  the  principle  is 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  1.39  . 

broad  arid  clear,  inherent  in  the  very  organization  of 
the  body  itself,  that  we  have  the  power  and  the  right 
to  expel  any  member  from  the  Senate  whenever  we 
deem  that  the  public  interests  are  unsafe  in  his  hands, 
and  that  he  is  unfit  to  be  a  member  of  the  body.  We 
all  know,  and  the  country  understands,  that  provision 
of  the  Constitution  which  confers  this  power  upon  the 
Senate.  Judge  Story,  in  commenting  upon  the  case 
of  John  Smith,  in  connection  with  the  provision  of  the 
Constitution  to  which  I  have  referred,  used  the  follow 
ing  language  : 

"  '  The  precise  ground  of  the  failure  of  the  motion 
does  not  appear ;  but  it  may  be  gathered,  from  the 
arguments  of  his  counsel,  that  it  did  not  turn  upon  any 
doubt  that  the  power  of  the  Senate  extended  to  cases 
of  misdemeanor  not  done  in  the  presence  or  view  of 
the  body ;  but  most  probably  it  was  decided  upon 
some  doubt  as  to  the  facts.  It  may  be  thought  diffi 
cult  to  draw  a  clear  line  of  distinction  between  the 
right  to  inflict  the  punishment  of  expulsion  and  any 
other  punishment  upon  a  member,  founded  on  the 
time,  place,  or  nature  of  the  offence.  The  power  to 
expel  a  member  is  not,  in  the  British  House  of  Com 
mons,  confined  to  offences  committed  by  the  party  as 
a  member,  or  during  the  session  of  Parliament ;  but 
it  extends  to  all  cases  where  the  offence  is  such  as,  in 
the  judgment  of  the  House,  unfits  him  for  parlia 
mentary  duties.'* 

"  The  rule  in  the  House  of  Commons  was  undoubt 
edly  in  the  view  of  the  framers  of  our  Constitution; 
and  the  question"  is,  has  the  member  unfitted  himself, 

*  Story's  Commentaries  on  the  Constitution. 


1-10  ANDREW    JO  UN  SOX. 

has  he  disqualified  himself,  in  view  of  the  extraordi 
nary  condition  of  the  country,  from  discharging  the 
duties  of  a  senator?  Looking-  at  his  connection  with 
the  executive  ;  looking-  at  the  condition,  and  probably 
the  destinies  of  the  country,  we  are  to  decide — with 
out  prejudice,  without  passion,  without  excitement — 
can  the  nation,  and  docs  the  nation,  have  confidence 
in  committing"  its  destinies  to  the  senator  from  In 
diana,  and  others  who  are  situated  like  him? 

"  If  we  were  disposed  to  bring-  to  our  aid,  and  were 
willing  to  rely  upon  the  public  judgment,  what  should 
we  find  ?  When  you  pass  through  the  country,  the 
common  inquiry  is,  '  Why  has  not  Senator  Bright,  and 
why  have  not  others  like  him,  been  expelled  from 
the  Senate  ?'  I  have  had  the  question  asked  me 
again  and  again.  I  do  not  intend,  though,  to  predi 
cate  my  action  as  a  senator  upon  what  may  be  sim 
ply  rumor  and  popular  clamor  or  popular  indignation  ; 
but  still  it  is  not  often  the  case  that  when  there  is  a 
public  judgment  formed  in  reference  to  any  great 
question  before  the  country,  that  public  judgment  is 
not  well  founded,  though  it  is  true  there  are  some 
times  exceptions. 

"  Having  shown  our  power  in  the  premises  to  be 
clear,  according  to  the  general  authority  granted  by 
the  Constitution,  and  the  broad  principle  stated  by 
Judge  Story  in  its  elucidation,  I  next  turn  my  atten 
tion  to  the  case  itself.  The  senator  from  Indiana  is 
charged  with  having  written  a  letter,  on  the  1st  of 
March  last,  to  the  chief  of  the  rebellion,  and  this  is 
the  basis  of  this  proceeding  against  him.  What  was 
the  condition  of  the  country  at  the  time  that  letter 
was  written  ?  Did  war  then  exist,  or  not  ?  for  really 


SERVICKS    AND    SPEECHES.  141 

that  is  the  great  point  in  the  case.  On  that  point  al 
low  me  to  read  an  extract  from  the  charge  of  Judge 
David  A.  Smalley  to  the  grand-jury  of  the  United 
States  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New 
York,  published  in  the  '  National  Intelligencer'  of  Jan 
uary  21,  1861  : 

"  '  It  is  well  known  that  war,  civil  war,  exists  in 
portions  of  the  Union  ;  that  persons  owing  allegiance 
to  the  United  States  have  confederated  together,  and 
with  arms,  by  force  and  intimidation,  have  prevented 
the  execution  of  the  constitutional  acts  of  Congress, 
have  forcibly  seized  upon  and  hold  a  custom-house 
and  post-office,  forts,  arsenals,  vessels,  and  other  prop 
erty  belonging  to  the  United  States,  and  have  actually 
fired  upon  vessels  bearing  the  United  States  flag  and 
carrying  United  States  troops.  This  is  a  usurpation 
of  the  authority  of  the  Federal  Government  ;  it  is 
high  treason  by  levying  war.  Either  one  of  J;hose 
acts  will  constitute  high  treason.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  of  it.' 

"  The  judge  here  defines  high  treason,  and  he  goes 
on  to  say  : 

"  '  What  amounts  to  adhering  to  and  giving  aid  and 
comfort  to  our  enemies,  it  is  somewhat  difficult  in  all 
cases  to  define  ;  but  certain  it  is  that  furnishing  them 
with  arms/ — 

"  It  really  seems  that  by  some  kind  of  intuition 
the  judge  had  in  his  mind  the  precise  case  now  under 
our  consideration,  and  had  anticipated  it  last  Jan 
uary,— 

— "  '  certain  it  is  that  furnishing  them  with  arms  or 
munitions  of  war,  vessels  or  other  means  of  transpor 
tation,  or  any  materials  which  will  aid  the  traitors  in 


142  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

carrying'  out  their  traitorous  purposes,  with  a  know 
ledge  that  they  are  intended  lor  such  purposes,  or  in 
citing  and  encouraging  others  to  engage  in  or  aid 
the  traitors  in  any  way,  does  come  within  the  provis 
ions  of  the  act.' 

"In  this  view,  even  if  we  were  sitting  as  a  court, 
bound  by  the  rules  and  technicalities  of  judicial  pro 
ceedings,  should  we  not  be  bound  to  hold  that  this 
case  comes  within  this  legal  definition  ? 

"  '  And  it  is  immaterial/  adds  Judge  Smalley, 
'  whether  such  acts  are  induced  by  sympathy  with 
the  rebellion,  hostility  to  the  Government,  or  a  design 
for  gain.' 

"  In  view  of  these  authorities  let  us  look  at  the  let 
ter.  It  was  written  on  the  1st  of  March,  1861.  The 
opinion  of  Judge  Smalley  was  published  in  the  '  In 
telligencer'  of  the  21st  of  January,  1861,  and  must, 
of  course,  have  been  delivered  before  that  time.  It 
would  be  doing  the  senator's  intelligence  great  injus 
tice  to  presume  that  lie  was  not  as  well  informed  on 
the  subject  as  the  judge  was  who  was  charging  the 
grand-jury  in  reference  to  an  act  of  Congress  passed 
at  an  early  day  in  the  history  of  the  Government.  It 
would  be  doing  him  great  injustice  to  suppose  that  he 
was  not  familiar  with  the  statute.  It  would  be  doing 
him  great  injustice  to  suppose  that  he  had  not  ob 
served  the  fact  that  the  attention  of  the  country  was 
being  called  by  the  courts  to  the  treason  that  was 
rampant  throughout  the  land.  The  letter  complained 
of  is  as  follows  : 

"  '  WASHINGTON,  March  1,  18G1. 

"  '  MY  DEAR  SIR — Allow  me  to  introduce  to  your  ac 
quaintance  my  friend  Thomas  B.  Lincoln,  of  Texas. 


SERVICES  AND   SPEECHES.  143 

He  visits  your  \capital  mainly  to  dispose  of  what  he 
regards  a  great  improvement  in  firearms.  I  re 
commend  him  to  your  favorable  consideration  as  a 
gentleman  of  the  first  respectability,  and  reliable  in 
every  respect. 

"  '  Very  truly  yours, 

"  'JESSE  D.  BRIGHT. 
"  '  To  His  Excellency  JEFFERSON  DAVIS, 

"  'President  of  the  Confederation  of  States.' 


"  According  to  the  charge  of  Judge  Smalley,  which 
I  have  already  read,  the  flag  of  the  United  States  had 
been  fired  upon  before  the  21st  of  January,  1861,  and 
war  then  did  in  fact  exist.  When  the  rebels  were 
taking  our  forts  ;  when  they  were  taking  possession 
of  our  post-offices  ;  when  they  were  seizing  our  cus 
tom-houses  ;  when  they  were  taking  possession  of 
our  mints  and  the  depositories  of  the  public  money, 
can  it  be  possible  that  the  senator  from  Indiana  did 
not  know  that  war  existed,  and  that  rebellion  was 
going  on  ?  It  is  a  fact  that  the  ordinance  of  the  con 
vention  of  Texas  seceding  from  the  Union,  and  attach 
ing  herself  to  the  Southern  Confederacy,  was  dated 
back  as  far  as  the  1st  of  February,  1861.  Then,  at 
the  time  the  letter  was  written,  Thomas  B.  Lincoln 
was  a  citizen  of  a  rebel  State  ;  a  traitor  and  a  rebel 
himself.  He  comes  to  the  senator  asking  him  to  do 
what?  To  write  a  letter  by  which  he  could  be  facil 
itated  in  his  scheme  of  selling  an  improved  firearm, 
an  implement  of  war  and  of  death.  Can  there  be  any 
mistake  about  it?  He  asks  for  a  letter  recommending 
an  improved  firearm  to  the  president  of  the  rebel 
States,  who  was  then  in  actual  war  ;  the  man  who 


ANDREW    JOHN  SOX. 

asked  for  this  being1  himself  from  a  State  that  was  in 
open  rebellion,  and  he  himself  a  traitor. 

"  Now,  sir,  if  we  were  a  court,  how  would  the  case 
be  presented  ?  I  know  the  Constitution  says  that 
'no  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason  unless  on 
the  testimony  of  two  witnesses  to  the  same  overt  act, 
or  on  confession  in  open  court.'  Here  is  an  overt 
act ;  it  is  shown  clearly  and  plainly.  We  have  the 
Senator's  confession  in  open  Senate  that  he  did  write 
the  letter.  Shall  we  with  this  discretion,  in  view  of 
the  protection  of  this  body  and  the  safety  of  the  Gov 
ernment,  decide  the  case  upon  special  pleas  or  hunt 
up  technicalities  by  which  the  senator  can  escape,  as 
you  would  quash  an  indictment  in  a  criminal  court  ? 

"  The  case  of  John  Smith  has  already  been  stated 
to  the  Senate.  A  true  bill  has  been  found  against 
him  for  his  connection  with  Burr's  treason,  but  upon 
a  technicality,  the  proof  not  being-  made  out  according 
to  the  Constitution,  and  Burr  having  been  tried  first 
and  acquitted,  the  bill  against  Smith  was  quashed, 
as  he  was  only  an  accomplice.  He  was,  therefore, 
turned  out  of  court ;  the  proceedings  against  him 
were  quashed  upon  a  technicality  ;  but  John  Smith 
was  a  senator,  and  he  came  here  to  this  body.  lie 
came  again  to  take  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  and  what  did  the  Senate  do  ?  They  took  up 
his  case  ;  they  investigated  it.  Mr.  Adams  made  a 
report,  able,  full,  complete.  I  may  say  he  came  well- 
nigh  exhausting  the  whole  subject.  The  committee 
reported  a  resolution  for  his  expulsion,  and  how  did 
the  vote  stand  ?  It  is  true  that  Mr.  Smith  was  not 
expelled,  for  the  want  of  some  little  formality  in  this 
body,  the  vote  standing  19  to  10.  It  only  lacked  one 


SERVICES    AXD    SPEECHES.  14:5 

vote  to  put  him  out  by  a  two-thirds  majority,  accord 
ing  to  the  requirements  of  the  Constitution.  What 
was  the  judgment  of  the  nation  ?  It  was  that  John 
Smith  was  an  accomplice  of  Burr,  and  the  Senate  con 
demned  him  and  almost  expelled  him,  not  narrowing 
itself  down  to  those  rules  and  technicalities  that  are 
resorted  to  in  courts  and  by  which  criminals  escape. 
To  show  the  grounds  upon  which  the  action  in  that 
case  was  based,  I  beg  leave  to  read  some  extracts 
from  Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams'  report : 

"  '  In  examining  the  question  whether  these  forms 
of  judicial  proceedings  or  the  rules  of  judicial  evi 
dence  ought  to  be  applied  to  .the  exercise  of  that  cen 
sorial  authority  which  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
possesses  over  the  conduct  of  its  members,  let  us 
assume  as  the  test  of  their  application  either  the  dic 
tates  of  unfettered  reason,  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the 
Constitution,  or  precedents  domestic  or  foreign,  and 
your  committee  believe  that  the  result  will  be  the 
same  :  that  the  power  of  expelling  a  member  must  in 
its  nature  be  discretionary,  and  in  its  exercise  always 
more  summary  than  the  tardy  process  of  judicial  pro 
ceedings. 

"  '  The  power  of  expelling  a  member  for  misconduct 
results,  on  the  principles  of  common  sense,  from  the/ 
interests  of  the  nation  that  the  high  trust  of  legisla 
tion  should  be  invested  in  pure  hands.  When  the 
trust  is  elective,  it  is  not  to  be  presumed  that  the  con 
stituent  body  will  commit  the  deposit  to  the  keeping 
of  worthless  characters.  But  when  a  man,  whom  his 
fellow-citizens  have  honored  with  their  confidence  on 
the  pledge  of  a  spotless  reputation,  has  degraded  him 
self  by  the  commission  of  infamous  crimes,  which 
7 


146  AXDKEW   JOIIXSOX. 

become  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  revealed  to  the 
world,  defective,  indeed,  would  be  that  institution 
which  should  be  impotent  to  discard  from  its  bosom 
the  contagion  of  such  a  member  ;  which  should  have 
no  remedy  of  amputation  to  apply  until  the  poison  had 
reached  the  heart.' " 

****** 

" '  But  when  a  member  of  a  legislative  body  lies 
under  the  imputation  of  aggravated  offences,  and  the 
determination  upon  his  case  can  operate  only  to 
remove  him  from  a  station  of  extensive  powers  and 
important  trusts,  this  disproportion  between  the 
interest  of  the  public  and  the  interest  of  the  individual 
disappears  ;  if  any  disproportion  exists,  it  is  of  an 
opposite  kind.  It  is  not  better  that  ten  traitors  should 
be  members  of  this  Senate,  than  that  one  innocent 
man  should  suffer  expulsion.  In  either  case,  no 
doubt,  the  evil  would  be  great ;  but  in  the  former,  it 
would  strike  at  the  vitals  of  the  nation  ;  in  the  latter 
it  might,  though  deeply  to  be  lamented,  only  be  the 
calamity  of  an  individual.'" 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

" '  Yet  in  the  midst  of  all  this  anxious  providence 
of  legislative  virtue,  it  has  not  authorized  the  con 
stituent  body  to  recall  in  any  case  its  representative. 
It  has  not  subjected  him  to  removal  by  impeachment ; 
and  when  the  darling  of  the  people's  choice  has  become 
their  deadliest  foe,  can  it  enter  the  imagination  of  a 
reasonable  man,  that  the  sanctuary  of  their  legislation 
must  remain  polluted  with  his  presence,  until  a  court 
of  common  law,  with  its  pace  of  snail,  can  ascertain 
whether  his  crime  was  committed  on  the  right  or  on 
the  left  bank  of  a  river  ;  whether  a  puncture  of  dif- 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  147 

ference  can  be  found  between  the  words  of  the  charge 
and  the  words  of  the  proof ;  whether  the  witnesses  of 
his  guilt  should  or  should  not  be  heard  by  his  jury ; 
and  whether  he  was  punishable,  because  present  at 
an  overt  act,  or  intangible  to  public  justice  because 
he  only  contrived  and  prepared  it  ?  Is  it  conceivable 
that  a  traitor  to  that  country  which  has  loaded  him 
with  favors,  guilty  to  the  common  understanding  of 
all  mankind,  should  be  suffered  to  return  unquestioned 
to  that  post  of  honor  and  confidence  where,  in  the 
zenith  of  his  good  fame,  he  had  been  placed  by  the 
esteem  of  his  countrymen,  and  in  defiance  of  their 
wishes,  in  mockery  of  their  fears,  surrounded  by  the 
public  indignation,  but  inaccessible  to  its  bolt,  pursue 
the  purposes  of  treason  in  the  heart  of  the  national 
councils?  Must  the  assembled  rulers  of  the  land 
listen  with  calmness  and  indifference,  session  after 
session,  to  the  voice  of  notorious  infamy,  until  the 
sluggard  step  of  municipal  justice  can  overtake  his 
enormities  ?  Must  they  tamely  see  the  lives  and  for 
tunes  of  millions,  the  safety  of  present  and  future 
ages,  depending  upon  his  vote,  recorded  with  their^, 
merely  because  the  abused  benignity  of  general 
maxims  may.  have  remitted  to  him  the  forfeiture  of 
his  life  ? 

" '  Such,  in  very  supposable  cases,  would  be  the 
unavoidable  consequences  of  a  principle  which  should 
offer  the  crutches  of  judicial  tribunals  as  an  apology 
for  crippling  the  congressional  power  of  expulsion. 
Far  different,  in  the  opinion  of  your  committee,  is  the 
spirit  of  our  Constitution.  They  believed  that  the 
very  purpose  for  which  this  power  was  given  was  to 
preserve  the  Legislature  from  the  firsts  approaches  of 


148  ANDREW    JOIIXSOX. 

infection  ;  that  it  was  made  discretionary,  because  it 
could  not  exist  under  the  procrastination  of  general 
rules.  That  its  process  must  lie  summary,  because  it 
would  be  rendered  nugatory  by  delay.' 

"Mr.  President,  suppose  Aaron  Burr  had  been  a 
senator,  and  after  his  acquittal  he  had  come  back 
here  to  take  his  seat  in  the  Senate,  what  would  have 
been  done?  According  to  the  doctrine  avowed  in  this 
debate,  that  we  must  sit  as  a  court  and  subject  the 
individual  to  all  the  rules  and  technicalities  of  crim 
inal  proceedings,  could  he  have  been  expelled?  And 
yet  is  there  a  senator  here  who  would  have  voted  to 
allow  Aaron  Burr  to  take  a  seat  in  the  Senate  after 
his  acquittal  by  a  court  and  jury  ?  Xo  ;  there  is  not 
a  senator  here  who  would  have  done  it.  Aaron  Burr 
was  tried  in  court,  and  he  was  found  not  guilty  ;  he 
was  turned  loose. ;  but  was  the  public  judgment  of 
this  nation  less  satisfied  of  his  guilt  than  if  he  had 
not  been  acquitted?  What  is  the  nation's  judgment, 
settled  and  iixed  ?  That  Aaron  Burr  was  guilty  of 
treason,  notwithstanding  he  was  acquitted  by  a  court 
and  jury. 

"  It  is  said  by  some  senators  that  the  senator  from 
Indiana  wrote  this  letter  simply  as  a  letter  of  friend 
ship.  Sir,  just  think  of  it  !  A  senator  of  the  United 
States  was  called  upon  to  write  a  letter  for  a  rebel, 
for  a  man  from  a  rebel  State,  after  the  courts  of  the 
country  had  pronounced  that  civil  war  existed  ;  after 
the  judicial  tribunals  had  defined  what  aiding  and  ad 
hering  to  the  enemies  of  the  country  was  1  Under 
such  circumstances,  what  would  have  been  the  course 
of  loyalty  and  of  patriotism  ?  Suppose  a  man  who 
had  been  your  friend,  sir,  who  had  rendered  you  many 


SERVICES   AXD    SPEECHES.  149 

acts  of  kindness,  had  come  to  you  for  such  a  letter, 
You  would  have  asked  where  he  was  going  with  it. 
You  would  have  said,  'There  is  a  Southern  Confed 
eracy;  there  is  a  rebellion;  my  friend,  you  cannot  ask 
me  to  write  a  letter  to  anybody  there  ;  they  are  at 
war  with  the  United  States;  they  are  at  war  with  my 
Government;  I  cannot  write  you  a  letter  giving  you 
aid  and  assistance  in  selling  your  improved  firearm 
there.'  Why  ?  '  Because  that  firearm  may  be  used 
against  my  own  country  and  against  my  own  fellow- 
citizens.  Would  not  that  have  been  the  language  of 
a  man  who  was  willing  to  recognize  his  obligations  of 
duty  to  his  country  ? 

What  was  the  object  of  writing  the  letter  ?  It  cer 
tainly  was  to  aid,  to  facilitate  the  selling  of  his  fire 
arms,  to  inspire  the  rebel  chief  with  confidence  in  the 
individual.  It  was  saying  substantially,  '  I  know  this 
man  ;  I  write  to  you  because  I  know  you  have  con 
fidence  in  me;  I  send  him  to  you  because  I  know  you 
need  firearms  ;  you  need  improved  firearms  ;  -  you 
need  the  most  deadly  and  destructive  weapons  of 
warfare  to  overcome  this  great  and  this  glorious 
country;  I  recommend  him  to  you,  and  I  recommend 
his  firearms  ;  he  is  a  man  in  whom  entire  confidence 
may  be  placed.7  That,  sir,  is  the  letter.  I  have  al 
ready  shown  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was 
written.  If  such  a  letter  had  been  written  in  the 
purest  innocence  of  intention,  with  no  treasonable 
design,  with  no  desire  to  injure  his  own  Government, 
yet,  in  view  of  all  the  circumstances,  in  view  of  the 
facts  which  had  transpired,  a  senator  who  would  be 
so  unthoughtful,  and  so  negligent,  and  so  regardless 
of  his  country's  interests  as  to  write  such  a  letter,  is 


150  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

not  entitled  to  a  scat  on  this  floor.'     [Applause  in  the 
galleries.] 

The  presiding  officer* — Order  !  order  ! 
Mr.  Jolmson  : 

"Then,  Mr.  President,  what  has  been  the  bearing 
and  the  conduct  of  the  senator  from  Indiana  since  ? 
I  desire  it  to  be  understood  that  I  refer  to  him  in  no 
unkindness,  for  God  knows  I  bear  him  none  ;  but  my 
duty  I  will  perform.  'Duties  are  mine,  consequences 
are  God's.'  What  has  been  the  senator's  bearing 
generally?  Have  you  heard  of  his  being  in  the  field? 
Have  you  heard  of  his  voice  and  his  influence  being 
raised  for  his  bleeding  and  distracted  country  ?  Has 
his  influence  been  brought  to  bear  officially,  socially, 
politically,  or  in  any  way,  for  the  suppression  of  the 
rebellion  ?  If  so,  I  am  unaware  of  it.  Where  is  the 
evidence  of  devotion  to  his  country  in  his  speeches 
and  in  his  votes  ?  Where  the  evidence  of  the  dispo 
sition  on  his  part  to  overthrow  and  put  down  the  re 
bellion?  I  have  been  told,  Mr.  President,  by  honor 
able  gentlemen,  as  an  evidence  of  the  senator's  devo 
tion  to  his  country  and  his  great  opposition  to  this 
Southern  movement,  that  they  heard  him,  and  perhaps 
with  tears  in  his  eyes,  remonstrate  witli  the  leaders 
of  the  rebellion  that  they  should  not  leave  him  here  in 
the  Senate,  or  that  they  should  not  persist  in  their 
course  after  the  relations  that  had  existed  between 
them  and  him,  and  the  other  Democrats  of  the  coun 
try;  that  he  thought  they  were  treating  him  badly. 
This  was  the  kind  of  remonstrance  he  made.  Be  it 

*  Mr.  Sherman. 


SERVICES  AND  SPEECHES.  151 

so,  I  am  willing  to  give  the  senator  credit  for  all  he 
is  entitled  to,  and  I  would  to  God  I  could  credit  him 
with  more. 

"  But  do  senators  remember  that,  when  this  battle 
was  being  fought  in  the  Senate.  I  stood  here  on  this 
side,  solitary  and  alone,  on  the  19th  day  of  December, 
1860,  and  proclaimed  that  the  Government  was  at  an 
end  if  you  denied  it  the  power  to  enforce  its  laws?  I 
declared,  then,  that  a  government  which  had  not  the 
power  to  coerce  obedience  on  the  part  of  those  who 
violated  the  law  was  no  government  at  all,  and  had 
failed  to  carry  out  the  objects  of  its  creation,  and  was, 
ipso  facto,  dissolved.  When  I  stood  on  this  floor  and 
fought  the  battle  for  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution 
and  the  enforcement  of  the  laws,  has  the  Senate  for 
gotten  that  a  bevy  of  conspirators  gathered  in  from 
the  other  House,  and  that  those  who  were  here  crowded 
around,  with  frowns  and  scowls,  and  expressions  of 
indignation  and  contempt  towards  me,  because  I  dared 
to  raise  my  feeble  voice  in  vindication  of  the  Consti 
tution  and  the  enforcement  of  the  laws  of  the  Union  ? 
Have  you  forgotten  the  taunts,  the  jeers,  the  derisive 
remarks,  the  contemptuous  expressions  that  were  in 
dulged  in  ?  If  you  have,  I  have  not.  If  the  senator 
felt  such  great  reluctance  at  the  departure  from  the 
Senate  of  the  chiefs  of  the  rebellion,  I  should  have 
been  glad  to  receive  one  encouraging  smile  from  him 
when  I  was  fighting  the  battles  of  the  country.  I  did 
not  receive  one  encouraging  expression  ;  I  received 
not  a  single  sustaining  look.  It  would  have  been  pe 
culiarly  encouraging  to  me,  under  the  circumstances, 
to  be  greeted  and  encouraged  by  one  of  the  senator's 
talents  and  long  standing  in  public  life;  but  he  was 


152  AN1)KE\V    JOHNSON. 

cold  as  an  iceberg',  and  I  stood  solitary  and  alone 
amidst  the  gang-  of  conspirators  that  had  gathered 
around  me.  So  much  lor  the  senator's  remonstrances 
and  expressions  of  regret  for  the  retirement  of  those 
gentlemen. 

"  The  bearing  of  the  senator  since  he  wrote  this 
letter  has  not  been  unobserved.  I  have  not  compared 
notes  ;  I  have  not  hunted  up  the  record  in  reference 
to  it  ;  but  I  have  a  perfect  recollection  of  it.  Did  we 
not  see,  during  the  last  session  of  Congress,  the  line 
beinir  drawn  between  those  who  were  devoted  to  the 

*T!> 

Union  and  those  who  were  not  ?  Cannot  we  sometimes 
see  a  great  deal  more  than  is  expressed  ?  Does  it 
require  us  to  have  a  man's  sentiments  written  down  in 
burning  and  blazing  characters,  before  we  are  able 
to  judge  what  they  are  ?  Has  it  not  been  observable 
all  through  this  history  where  the  true  Union  heart 
has  stood  ?  What  was  the  senator's  bearing  at  the 
last  session  of  Congress  ?  Do  we  not  know  that  in 
the  main  he  stood  here  opposed  substantially  to  every 
measure  which  was  necessary  to  sustain  the  Govern 
ment  in  its  trial  and  peril  ?  lie  may  perhaps  have 
voted  for  some  measures  that  were  collateral,  remote, 
indirect  in  their  bearing  ;  but  do  we  not  know  that 
his  vote  and  his  influence  were  cast  against  the  meas 
ures  which  were  absolutely  necessary  to  sustain  the 
Government  in  its  hour  of  peril  ? 

"Some  gentlemen  have  said,  and  well  said,  that* 
we  should  not  judge  by  party.  I  say  so,  too.  I 
voted  to  let  the  senator  from  Indiana  into  the  body, 
and  as  a  Democrat  my  bias  and  prejudice  would 
rather  be  in  his  favor.  I  am  a  Democrat  now  ;  I 
have  been  one  all  iny  life  ;  I  expect  to  live  and  die 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  153 

one  ;  and  the  corner-stone  of  iny  Democracy  rests 
upon  the  enduring  basis  of  the  Union.  Democrats 
may  come  and  go  ;  but  they  shall  never  divert  me 
from  the  polar  star  by  which  I  have  ever  been  guided 
from  early  life — the  great  principle  of  Democracy 
upon  which  this  Government  rests,  and  which  cannot 
be  carried  out  without  the  preservation  of  the  Union 
of  these  States.  The  pretence  hitherto  employed  by 
many  who  are  now  in  the  traitors'  camp  has  been, 
'  We  are  for  the  Union  ;  we  are  not  for  dissolution  ; 
but  we  are  opposed  to  coercion.'  How  long,  senators, 
have  you  heard  that  siren  song  ?  Where  are  now  most 
of  those  who  sang  those  siren  tones  to  us  ?  Look 
back  to  the  last  session,  and  inquire  where  now  are 
the  men  who  then  were  singing  that  song  in  our  ears  ? 
Where  is  Trusten  Polk,  who  then  stood  here  so  gently 
craving  for  peace  ?  He  is  in  the  rebel  camp.  Where 
is  John  C.  Breckinridge  ? — a  man  for  whose  promo 
tion  to  the  Presidency  I  did  what  I  could,  physically, 
mentally,  and  pecuniarily  ;  but  when  he  satisfied  rne 
that  he  was  for  breaking  up  this  Government,  and 
would  ere  long  be  a  traitor  to  his  country,  I  dropped 
him  as  I  would  the  senator  from  Indiana.  He  was 
here  at  the  last  session  of  Congress  ;  and  everybody 
could  see  then  that  he  was  on  the  road  to  the  traitors' 
camp.  Instead  of  sustaining  the  Government,  he,  too, 
was  crying  out  for  peace  ;  but  he  was  bitter  against 
'  Lincoln's  government.'  Sir,  when  1  talk  about  pre 
serving  this  great  Government,  I  do  not  have  its  ex 
ecutive  officer  in  my  mind.  The  executive  head  of 
the  Government  comes  in  and  goes  out  of  office  every 
four  years.  He  is  the  mere  creature  of  the  people. 
I  talk  about  the  Government  without  regard  to  the 
7* 


154:  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

particular  executive  officers  who  have  charge  of  it. 
If  they  do  well,  we  can  continue  them  ;  if  they  do 
wrong1,  we  can  turn  them  out.  Mr.  Lincoln  having 
come  in  according  to  the  forms  of  law  and  the  Con 
stitution,  I,  loving  my  Government  and  the  Union, 
felt  it  to  be  my  duty  to  stand  by  the  Government, 
and  to  stand  by  the  Administration  in  all  those  meas 
ures  that  I  believed  to  be  necessary  and  proper  for 
the  preservation  and  perpetuation  of  the  Union. 

"Mr.  Polk  has  gone  ;  Mr.  Breckinridge  lias  gone  ; 
my  namesake,  the  late  senator  from  Missouri,  has 
gone.  Did  you  not  sec  the  line  of  separation  at  the 
last  session  ?  Although  senators  make  speeches  in 
which  they  give  utterance  to  disclaimers,  we  can  see 
their  bearing.  It  is  visible  now  ;  and  the  obligations 
of  truth  and  duty  to  my  country  require  me  to  speak 
of  it.  I  believe  there  are  treasonable  tendencies  here 
now  ;  and  how  long  it  will  be  before  they  will  lead  to 
the  traitors'  camp,  I  shall  not  undertake  to  say.  -The 
great  point  with  these  gentlemen  is,  that  they  are  op 
posed  to  coercion  and  to  the  enforcement  of  the  laws. 
Without  regard  to  the  general  bearing  of  the  senator 
from  Indiana  upon  that  point,  let  me  quote  the  con 
clusion  of  his  letter  of  the  7th  of  September,  1801,  to 
J.  Fitch.  I  will  read  only  the  concluding  portion  of 
the  letter,  as  it  does  him  no  injustice  to  omit  the  re 
mainder  : 

' '  And  hence  I  have  opposed,  and  so  long  as  my 
present  convictions  last  shall  continue  to  oppose  the 
entire  coercive  policy  of  the  Government.  I  hope  this 
may  be  satisfactory  to  my  friends.  For  my  enemies 
I  care  riot.' 

"  Does  not  this  correspond  with  the  senator's  gen- 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  155 

eral  bearing  ?  Has  he  given  his  aid,  or  countenance, 
or  influence  in  any  manner  towards  the  efforts  of  the 
Government  to  sustain  itself?  What  has  been  his 
course  ?  We  know  that  great  stress  has  been  laid 
upon  the  word  '  coercion/  and  it  has  been  played 
upon  effectually  for  the  purpose  of  prejudicing  the 
Southern  mind,  in  connection  with  the  other  term, 
'subjugation  of  the  States/  which  has  tjeen  used  so 
often.  We  may  as  well  be  honest  and  fair,  and  admit 
the  truth  of  the  great  proposition,  that  a  government 
cannot  exist — in  other  words,  it  is  no  government — 
if  it  is  without  the  power  to  enforce  its  laws  and  co 
erce  obedience  to  them.  That  is  all  there  is  of  it ; 
and  the  very  instant  you  take  that  power  from  this 
Government,  it  is  at  an  end  ;  it  is  a  mere  rope  of  sand 
that  will  fall  to  pieces  of  its  own  weight.  It  is  idle, 
Utopian,  chimerical,  to  talk  about  a  government  ex 
isting  without  the  power  to  enforce  its  laws.  How  is 
the  Government  to  enforce  its  laws  ?  The  Constitu 
tion  says  that  Congress  shall  have  power  '  to  provide 
for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws  of  the 
Union,  suppress  insurrections,  and  repel  invasions/ 
Let  me  ask  the  senator  from  Indiana,  with  all  his  as 
tuteness,  how  is  rebellion  to  be  put  down,  how  is  it 
to  be  resisted,  unless  there  is  some  power  in  the  Gov 
ernment  to  enforce  its  laws  ? 

"  If  there  be  a  citizen  who  violates  your  post-office 
laws,  who  counterfeits  the  coin  of  the  United  States, 
or  who  commits  any  other  offence  against  the  laws 
of  the  United  States,  you  subject  him  to  trial 
and  punishment.  Is  not  that  coercion?  Is  not 
that  enforcing  the  laws?  How  is  rebellion  to  be 
put  down  without  coercion,  without  enforcing  the 


156  ANDREW    JOHXSON. 

laws  ?  Can  it  be  done  ?  The  Constitution  pro 
vides  that — 

"  i  The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  xState 
in  this  Union  a  republican  form  of  government,  and 
shall  protect  each  of  them  from  invasion  ;  and  on  ap 
plication  of  the  Legislature,  or  of  the  Executive  (when 
the  Legislature  cannot  be  convened),  against  domestic 
violence.' 

"  How  is  this  Government  to  put  down  domestic 
violence  in  a  State  without  coercion  ?  How  is  the 
nation  to  be  protected  against  insurrection  without 
coercing  the  citizens  to  obedience  ?  Can  it  be  done  ? 
When  the  senator  says  he  is  ag'ainst  the  entire  co 
ercive  policy  of  the  Government,  he  is  against  the 
vital  principle  of  all  government.  I  look  upon  this 
as  the  most  revolutionary  and  destructive  doctrine 
that  ever  was  preached.  If  this  Government  cannot 
call  forth  the  militia,  if  it  cannot  repel  invasion,  if  it 
cannot  put  down  domestic  violence,  if  it  cannot  sup 
press  rebellion,  I  ask  if  the  great  objects  of  the  Govern 
ment  are  not  at  an  end  ? 

"  Look  at  my  own  State,  by  way  of  illustration. 
There  in  open  rebellion  there  ;  there  is  domestic  vio 
lence  ;  there  is  insurrection.  An  attempt  has  been 
made  to  transfer  that  State  to  another  power.  Let 
me  ask  the  senator  from  Indiana  if  the  Constitution 
does  not  require  you  to  guarantee  us  a  republican 
form  of  government  in  that  State  ?  Is  not  that  your 
sworn  duty?  We  ask  you  to  put  down  this  unholy 
rebellion.  What  answer  would  he  give  us?  We  ask 
you  to  protect  us  against  insurrection  and  domestic 
violence.  What  is  his  reply?  4I  am  against  your 
whole  coercive  policy;  I  arn  against  the  enforcement 


SEKVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  157 

of  the  laws.'  I  say  that  if  that  principle  be  acted  on, 
your  Government  is  at  an  end  ;  it  fails  utterly  to  carry 
out  the  object  of  its  creation.  Such  a  principle  leads 
to  the  destruction  of  the  Government,  for  it  must  in 
evitably  result  in  anarchy  arid  confusion.  '  I  am 
opposed  to  the  entire  coercive  policy  of  the  Govern 
ment/  says  the  senator  from  Indiana.  That  cuckoo 
note  has  been  reiterated  to  satiety  ;  it  is  understood ; 
men  know  the  nature  and  character  of  their  Govern 
ment,  and  they  also  know  that  to  cry  out  against 
'coercion'  and  'subjugation'  is  mere  ad  captandum, 
idle,  and  unmeaning  slang-whanging. 

"  Sir,  I  may  be  a  little  sensitive  on  this  subject 
upon  the  one  hand,  while  I  know  I  want  to  do  ample 
justice  upon  the  other.  I  took  an  oath  to  support  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  There  is  rebellion 
in  the  land  ;  there  is  insurrection  against  the  author 
ity  of  this  Government.  Is  the  senator  from  Indiana 
so  unobservant  or  so  obtuse  that  he  does  not  know 
now  that  there  has  been  a  deliberate  design  for  years 
to  change  the  nature  and  character  and  genius  of  this 
Government?  Do  we  not  know  that  these  schemers 
have  been  deliberately  at  work,  and  that  there  is  a 
party  in  the  South,  with  some  associates  in  the  North, 
and  even  in  the  West,  that  have  become  tired  of  free 
government,  in  which  they  have  lost  confidence  ? 
They  raise  an  outcry  against  'coercion,'  that  they 
may  paralyze  the  Government,  cripple  the  exercise  of 
the  great  powers  with  which  it  was  invested,  and 
finally  change  its  form  and  subject  us  to  a  Southern 
despotism.  Do  we  not  know  it  to  be  so?  Why  dis 
guise  this  great  truth  ?  Do  we  not  know  that  they 
have  been  anxious  for  a  change  of  government  for 


158  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

years  ?  Since  this  rebellion  commenced  it  has  mani 
fested  itself  in  many  quarters.  Ilmv  long1  is  it  since 
the  organ  of  the  Government  at  Richmond,  the  Rich 
mond  Whig,  declared  that  rather  than  live  under  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  they  preferred  to 
take  the  constitutional  Queen  of  Great  Britain  as  their 
protector ;  that  they  would  make  an  alliance  with 
Great  Britain  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  en 
forcement  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States  ?  Do  we 
not  know  this?  Why  then  play  'hide  and  go  seek?' 
Why  say,  '  Oh,  yes,  I  am  for  the  Union,'  while  every 
act,  influence,  conversation,  vote,  is  against  it  ? 
What  confidence  can  we  have  in  one  who  takes  such 
a  course  ? 

"  The  people  of  my  State,  down-trodden  and  op 
pressed  by  the  iron  heel  of  Southern  despotism,  appeal 
to  you  for  protection.  They  ask  you  to  protect  them 
against  domestic  violence.  They  want  you  to  help 
them  to  put  down  this  unholy  arid  damnable  rebellion. 
They  call  upon  this  Government  for  the  execution  of 
its  constitutional  duty  to  guarantee  to  them  a  repub 
lican  form  of  government,  and  to  protect  them  against 
the  tyranny  and  despotism  which  is  stalking  abroad. 
What  is  the  cold  reply?  'lam  against  the  entire 
coercive  policy ;  I  am  not  for  enforcing  the  laws.' 
Upon  such  a  doctrine  government  crumbles  to  pieces, 
and  anarchy  and  despotism  reign  throughout  the  land. 

"Indiana,  God  bless  her,  is  as  true  to  the  Union 
as  the  needle  is  to  the  pole.  She  has  sent  out  her 
'  columns  ;'  she  has  sent  her  thousands  into  the  field  : 
for  what  ?  To  sustain  the  Constitution  and  to  enforce 
the  laws  ;  and  as  they  march  with  strong  arms  and 
brave  hearts  to  relieve  a  suffering  people,  who  have 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  159 

committed  no  offence  save  devotion  to  this  glorious 
Union ;  as  they  march  to  the  rescue  of  the  Constitu 
tion  and  to  extend  its  benefits  again  to  a  people  who 
love  it  dearly,  arid  who  have  been  ruthlessly  torn  from 
under  its  protecting  segis,  what  does  their  senator  say 
to  them?  '  1  am  against  the  entire  policy  of  coercion/ 
Do  you  ever  hear  a  senator  who  thus  talks  make  any 
objection  to  the  exercise  of  unconstitutional  and 
tyrannical  power  by  the  so-called  Southern  Confeder 
acy,  or  say  a  word  against  its  practice  of  coercion  ? 
In  all  the  speeches  that  have  been  delivered  on  that 
point,  has  one  sentence  against  usurpation,  against 
despotism,  against  the  exercise  of  doubtful  and  un 
constitutional  powers  by  that  Confederacy,  been 
uttered  ?  Oh,  no  !  Have  you  heard  any  objection  to 
their  practising  not  only  coercion,  but  usurpation? 
Have  they  not  usurped  government  ?  Have  they  not 
oppressed,  and  are  they  not  now  tyrannizing  over  the 
people  ?  The  people  of  my  State  are  coerced,  borne 
down,  trodden  beneath  the  iron  heel  of  power.  We 
appeal  to  you  for  protection.  You  stand  by  and  see 
us  coerced  ;  you  stand  by  and  see  tyranny  triumphing, 
arid  no  sympathy,  no  kindness,  no  helping  hand  can 
be  extended  to  us.  Your  Government  is  paralyzed  ; 
your  Government  is  powerless  ;  that  which  you  have 
called  a  government  is  a  dream,  an  idle  thing".  You 
thought  you  had  a  government,  but  you  have  none. 
My  people  are  appealing  to  you  for  protection  under 
the  Constitution.  They  are  arrested  by  hundreds  and 
by  thousands ;  they  are  dragged  away  from  their 
homes  and  incarcerated  in  dungeons.  They  ask  you 
for  protection.  Why  do  you  not  give  it?  Some  of 
them  are  lying  chained  in  their  lonely  prison-house 


160  ANDREW    JOHNSON". 

The  only  response  to  their  murmur  is  the  rattling  and 
clanking  of  the  chains  that  bind  their  limbs.  The 
only  response  to  their  appeals  is  the  grating  ol  the 
hinges  of  their  dungeon.  When  we  ask  for  help 
under  the  Constitution,  we  are  told  that  the  Govern 
ment  has  no  power  to  enforce  the  laws.  Our  people 
are  oppressed  and  down-trodden,  and  you  give  them 
no  remedy.  They  were  taught  to  love  and  respect 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  What  is  their 
condition  to-day?  They  are  hunted  and  pursued  like 
the  beasts  of  the  forest  by  the  secession  and  disunion 
hordes  who  are  enforcing  their  doctrine  of  coercion. 
They  are  shot  or  hung  for  no  crime  save  a  desire  to 
stand  by  the  Constitution -of  the  United  States.  Help 
less  children  and  innocent  females  are  murdered  in 
cold  blood.  Our  men  are  hung  and  their  bodies  left 
upon  the  gibbet.  They  are  shot  and  left  lying  in  the 
gorges  of  the  mountains;  not  even  thrown  into  the 
caves  there  to  lie,  but  are  left  exposed  to  pass  through 
all  the  loathsome  stages  of  decomposition,  or  to  be 
devoured  by  the  birds  of  prey.  We  appeal  for  pro 
tection,  and  are  told  by  the  senator  from  Indiana  and 
others,  'We  cannot  enforce  the  laws  ;  we  are  against 
the  entire  coercive  policy.'  Do  you  not  hear  their 
groans?  Do  you  not  hear  their  cries?  Do  you  not 
hear  the  shrieks  of  oppressed  and  down-trodden 
women  and  children?  Sir,  their  tones  ring*  out  so 
loud  and  clear,  that  even  listening  angels  look  from 
heaven  in  pity. 

"  1  will  not  pursue  this  idea  further,  for  I  perceive 
that  I  am  consuming  more  time  than  I  intended  to 
occupy.  1  think  it  is  clear,  without  going  further  into 
the  discussion,  that  the  senator  from  Indiana  has 


SERVICES   AND    SPEECHES.  161 

sympathized  with  the  rebellion.  The  conclusion  is 
fixed  upon  my  mind  that  the  senator  from  Indiana  has 
disqualified  himself,  has  incapacitated  himself  to  dis 
charge  the  duties  in  this  body  of  a  loyal  senator.  I 
think  it  is  clear  that,  even  if  we  were  a  court,  we 
should  be  bound  to  convict  him  ;  but  I  do  not  narrow 
the  case  down  to  the  close  rules  that  would  govern  a 
court  of  justice. 

"But,  sir,  in  the  course  of  the  discussion  one  pal 
liating  fact  was  submitted  by  the  distinguished  senator 
from  New  Jersey,*  and  he  knows  that  I  do  not  refer 
to  him  in  any  spirit  of  unkindness.  There  was  more 
of  legal  learning  and  special  pleading  in  his  sugges 
tion  than  solidity  or  sound  argument.  He  suggested 
that  there  was  no  proof  that  this  letter  had  ever  been 
delivered  to  Jefferson  Davis,  and  that  therefore  the 
senator  from  Indiana  ought  not  to  be  convicted. 
Well,  sir,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  proof  that  it 
was  not  delivered.  It  is  true,  the  letter  was  found  in 
Mr.  Lincoln's  possession  ;  but  who  knows  that  Davis 
did  not  read  the  letter,  and  hand  it  back  to  Lincoln  ? 
It  may  have  been  that,  being  from  his  early  friend,  a 
man  whom  he  respected,  Lincoln  desired  to  keep  the 
letter  and  show  it  to  somebody  else.  We  have  as 
much  right  to  infer  that  the  letter  was  delivered  as 
that  it  was  not ;  but  be  that  as  it  may,  does  it  lessen 
the  culpability  of  the  senator  from  Indiana  ?  He  com 
mitted  the  act,  and  so  far  as  he  was  concerned  it  was 
executed.  It  would  be  no  palliation  of  his  offence  if 
the  man  did  not  deliver  the  letter  to  Davis.  The  in 
tent  and  the  act  were  just  as  complete  as  if  it  had 
been  delivered. 

*  Mr.  Ten  Eyck. 


162  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

"During1  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  in  1780,  Major 
Andre,  a  British  spy,  held  a  conference  with  Benedict 
Arnold.  Arnold  prepared  his  letters,  six  in  number, 
and  they  were  handed  over  to  Major  Andre,  who  put 
them  between  the  soles  of  his  feet  and  his  stocking's, 
and  he  started  on  his  way  to  join  Sir  Henry  Clinton. 
Before  he  reached  his  destination,  however,  John 
Puulding  and  his  two  associates  arrested  Major 
Andre.  They  pulled  off  his  boots  and  his  stockings, 
and  they  got  the  papers  ;  they  kept  them,  and  Major 
Andre  was  tried  and  hung-  as  a  spy.  Arnold's  papers 
were  not  delivered  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton  ;  but  is  there 
anybody  here  who  doubts  that  Arnold  was  a  traitor? 
Has  public  opinion  ever  changed  upon  that  subject? 
He  was  riot  convicted  in  a  court,  nor  were  the  treason 
able  dispatches  which  were  to  expose  the  condition 
of  West  Point,  and  make  the  British  attack  upon  it 
easy  and  successful,  ever  delivered  to  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  and  yet  Andre  was  hung  as  a  spy.  Because 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  did  not  receive  the  treasonable 
documents,  was  the  guilt  of  Benedict  Arnold  any  the 
less?  I  do  not  intend  to  argue  this  question  in  a 
legal  way  ;  I  simply  mention  this  circumstance  by 
way  of  illustration  of  the  point  which  has  been  urged 
in  the  present  case,  and  leave  it  for  the  public  judg-- 
ment  to  determine. 

"  Sir,  it  has  been  said  by  the  distinguished  senator 
from  Delaware*  that  the  questions  in  controversy 
might  all  have  been  settled  by  compromise.  He  dealt 
rather  extensively  in  the  party  aspect  of  the  case,  and 
seemingly  desired  to  throw  the  onus  of  the  present 

*  Mr.  Saulsbury. 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  163 

condition  of  affairs  entirely  on  one  side.  He  told  us 
that  if  so  and  so  had  been  done,  these  questions  could 
have  been  settled,  and  that  now  there  would  have 
been  no  war.  He  referred  particularly  to  the  resolu 
tion  offered  during  the  last  Congress  by  the  senator 
from  New  Hampshire,*  and  upon  the  vote  on  that  lie 
based  his  argument.  I  do  not  mean  to  be  egotistical  ; 
but  if  he  will  give  me  his  attention,  I  intend  to  take 
the  staple  out  of  that  speech,  and  show  how  much  of 
it  is  left  on  that  point. 

"  The  speech  of  the  senator  from  Delaware  was  a 
very  fine  one.  I  have  not  the  power,  as  he  has,  to 
con  over,  and  get  by  rote,  and  memorize  handsomely 
rounded  periods,  and  make  a  great  display  of  rhet 
oric.  It  is  my  misfortune  that  I  am  not  so  skilled. 
I  have  to  seize  on  fugitive  thoughts  as  they  pass 
through  my  mind,  make  the  best  application  of  them 
I  can,  and  express  them  in  my  own  crude  way.  I  am 
not  one  of  those  who  prepare  rounding,  sounding, 
bounding  rhetorical  flourishes,  read  them  over  twenty 
times  before  I  come  into  the  Senate  Chamber,  make  a 
great  display,  and  have  it  said,  '  Oh,  that  is  a  fine 
speech  P  I  have  heard  many  such  fine  speeches  ;  but 
v/lieii  I  have  had  time  to  follow  them  up,  I  have  found 
that  it  never  took  long  to  analyze  them,  and  reduce 
them  to  their  original  elements  ;  and  that  when  they 
were  reduced,  there  was  not  very  much  of  them. 
[Laughter.] 

"  The  senator  told  us  that  the  adoption  of  the  Clark 
amendment  to  the  Crittenden  resolutions  defeated  the 
settlement  of  the  questions  of  controversy  ;  and  that, 

*  Mr.  Clark. 


164  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

but  for  that  vote,  all  could  liavc  been  peace  and  pros 
perity  now.  We  were  told  that  the  (Mark  amendment 
defeated  the  Crittendcn  Compromise,  and  prevented  a 
settlement  of  the  controversy.  On  this  point  I  will 
read  a  portion  of  the  speech  of  my  worthy  and  tal 
ented  friend  from  California,*  and  when  I  speak  of 
him  thus,  I  do  it  in  no  unmeaning-  sense.  1  intend 
that  he,  not  I,  shall  answer  the  senator  from  Dela 
ware.  I  know  that  sometimes,  when  gentlemen  are 
fixing"  up  their  pretty  rhetorical  nourishes,  they  do 
not  take  time  to  see  all  the  sharp  corners  they  may 
encounter.  If  they  can  make  a  readable  sentence, 
and  float  on  in  a  smooth,  easy  stream,  all  goes  well, 
and  they  are  satisfied.  As  I  have  said,  the  senator 
from  Delaware  told  us  that  the  Clark  amendment  was 
the  turning-point  in  the  whole  matter  ;  that  from  it 
had  flowed  rebellion,  revolution,  war,  the  shooting  and 
imprisonment  of  people  in  different  States — perhaps 
he  meant  to  include  my  own.  This  was  the  Pandora's 
box  that  has  been  opened,  out  of  which  all  the  evils 
that  now  afllict  the  land  have  ilown.  Thank  God,  I 
still  have  hope  that  all  will  yet  be  saved.  My  worthy 
friend  from  California,  during  the  last  session  of  Con 
gress,  made  one  of  the  best  speeches  he  ever  made. 
I  bought  five  thousand  copies  of  it  for  distribution, 
but  I  had  no  constituents  to  send  them  to  [laughter]  ; 
and  they  have  been  lying  in  your  document-room  ever 
since,  with  the  exception  of  a  few,  which  1  thought 
would  do  good  in  some  quarters.  In  the  course  of 
that  speech  upon  this  very  point,  he  made  use  of  these 
remarks  : 

*  Mr.  Latham. 


SERVICES    AND   SPEECHES.  165 

" '  Mr.  President,  being-  lust  winter  a  careful  eye 
witness  of  all  that  occurred,  I  soon  became  satisfied 
that  it  was  a  deliberate,  wilful  design,  on  the  part  of 
some  representatives  of  Southern  States,  to  seize  upon 
the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  merely  as  an  excuse  to 
precipitate  this  revolution  upon  the  country.  One 
evidence,  to  my  mind,  is  the  fact  that  South  Carolina 
never  sent  her  senators  here.' 

"  Then  they  certainly  were  not  influenced  by  the 
Clark  amendment. 

"  '  An  additional  evidence  is,  that  when  gentlemen 
on  this  floor,  by  their  votes,  could  have  controlled  le 
gislation,  they  refused  to  cast  them,  for  fear  that  the 
very  propositions  submitted  to  this  body  might  have 
an  influence  in  changing  the  opinions  of  their  constit 
uencies.  Why,  sir,  when  the  resolutions  submitted 
by  the  senator  from  New  Hampshire  [Mr.  Clark]  were 
offered  as  an  amendment  to  the  Crittenden  proposi 
tions,  for  the  manifest  purpose  of  embarrassing  the 
latter,  and  the  vote  taken  on  the  16th  of  January, 
1861,  I  ask,  what  did  we  see?  Ihere  were  fifty-five 
senators  at  that  time  upon  this  floor  in  person.  The 
Globe  of  the  second  session,  Thirty-sixth  Congress, 
part  1,  page  409,  shows  that  upon  the  call  of  the 
yeas  arid  nays  immediately  preceding  the  vote  on 
the  substituting  of  Mr.  Clark's  amendment,  there 
were  fifty-five  votes  cast.  I  will  read  the  vote  from 
the  Globe: 

11 '  YEAS. — Messrs.  Anthony,  Baker,  Bingham,  Cam 
eron,  Chandler,  Clark,  Collamer,  Dixon,  Doolittle, 
Durkee,  Fessenden,  Foot,  Foster,  Grimes,  Hale,  Har- 
lan,  King,  Seward,  Simmons,  Summer,  Ten  Eyck, 
Trurnbull,  Wade,  Wilkinson,  and  Wilson— 25.' 


166  AXDKKW    JOHNSON. 

"'  NAYS. — Messrs.  Bayard,  Benjamin,  Bigler,  Bragg, 
Bright,  Clingman,  Crittenden,' Douglas,  Fitch,  Green, 
Gvvin,  Hcmpliill,  Hunter,  Iverson,  Johnson  of  Ar 
kansas,  Johnson  of  Tennessee,  Kennedy,  Lane,  La 
tham,  Mason,  Nicholson,  Pearce,  Polk,  Powell,  Pugh, 
Rice,  Saulsbnry,  Sebastian,  Slidell,  and  Wigfall — 30.' 

"  '  The  vote  being  taken  immediately  after,  on  the 
Clark  proposition,  was  as  follows  :' 

"'YEAS. — Messrs.  Anthony,  Baker,  Bingham,  Cam 
eron,  Chandler,  Clark,  Collamcr,  Dixon,  Doolittlc,  Dur- 
kee,  Fessenden,  Foot,  Foster,  Grimes,  Hale,  Harlan, 
King,  Seward,  Simmons,  Sumner,  Ten  Eyck,  Trumbull, 
Wade,  Wilkinson,  and  Wilson — 25. 

"  '  NAYS. — Messrs.  Bayard,  Biglcr,  Bragg,  Bright, 
Clingman,  Crittenden,  Fitch,  Green,  Gvvin,  Hunter, 
Johnson  of  Tennessee,  Kennedy,  Lane,  Latham,  Mason, 
Nicholson,  Pearce,  Polk,  Powell,  Pugh,  Rice,  Sauls- 
bury,  and  Sobastian — 23.' 

"  '  Six  senators  retained  their  scats  and  refused  to 
vote,  thus  themselves  allowing  the  Clark  proposition 
to  supplant  the  Crittenden  resolution  by  a  vote  of 
twenty-five  to  twenty-three.  Mr.  Benjamin,  of  Louisi 
ana;  Mr.  Hemphill  and  Mr.  Wigfall,  of  Texas;  Mr.  Iver 
son,  of  Georgia  ;  Mr.  Johnson,  of  Arkansas,  and  Mr. 
Slidell,  of  Louisiana,  were  in  their  seats,  but  refused 
to  cast  their  votes.' 

"I  sat  right  behind  Mr.  Benjamin,  and  I  am  not 
sure  that  my  worthy  friend  was  not  close  by,  when  he 
refused  to  vote,  and  I  said  to  him,  '  Mr.  Benjamin,  why 
do  you  not  vote  ?  Why  not  save  this  proposition,  and 
see  if  we  cannot  bring  the  country  to  it  V  lie  gave 
me  rather  an  abrupt  answer,  and  said  he  would  con 
trol  his  own  action  without  consulting  me  or  anybody 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  167 

else.  Said  I,  '  Vote,  and  show  yourself  an  honest  man.' 
As  soon  as  the  vote  was  taken,  he  and  others  tele 
graphed  South,  '  We  cannot  get  any  compromise.' 
Here  were  six  Southern  men  refusing  to  vote,  when 
the  amendment  would  have  been  rejected  by  four  ma 
jority  if  they  had  voted.  Who,  then,  has  brought 
these  evils  on  the  country  ?  Was  it  Mr.  Clark  ?  He 
was  acting  out  his  own  policy  ;  but  with  the  help  we 
had  from  the  other  side  of  the  chamber,  if  all  those  on 
this  side  had  been  true  to  the  Constitution  and  faithful 
to  their  constituents,  and  had  acted  with  fidelity  to 
the  country,  the  amendment  of  the  senator  from  New 
Hampshire  could  have  been  voted  down,  the  defeat  of 
which,  the  senator  from  Delaware  says,  would  have 
saved  the  country.  Whose  fault  was  it?  Who  is 
responsible  for  it  ?  Who  did  it  ?  Southern  traitors, 
as  was  said  in  the  speech  of  the  senator  from  Cali 
fornia.  They  did  it.  They  wanted  no  compromise. 
They  accomplished  their  object  by  withholding  their 
votes;  and  hence  the  country  has  been  involved  in  the 
present  difficulty.  Let  me  read  another  extract  from 
this  speech  of  the  senator  from  California  : 

"  '  I  recollect  full  well  the  joy  that  pervaded  the 
faces  of  some  of  those  gentlemen  at  the  result,  and 
the  sorrow  manifested  by  the  venerable  senator  from 
Kentucky  (Mr.  Crittenden).  The  record  shows  that 
Mr.  Pugh,  from  Ohio,  despairing  of  any  compromise 
between  the  extremes  of  ultra  republicanism  and  dis- 
unionists,  working  manifestly  for  the  same  end,  moved, 
immediately  after  the  vote  was  announced,  to  lay  the 
whole  subject  on  the  table.  If  you  will  turn  to  page 
443,  in  the  same  volume,  you  will  find,  when,  at  a  late 
period,  Mr.  Cameron,  from  Pennsylvania,  moved  to  re- 


168  A.NDREW    JOHXSOX. 

consider  the  vote,  appeals  having  boon  made  to  sus 
tain  those  who  were  struggling  to  preserve  the  peace 
of  the  country,  that  the  vote  icas  reconsidered  ;  and 
when,  at  last,  the  Crittenden  propositions  were  sub 
mitted  on  the  2d  day  of  March,  these  Southern  States 
having  nearly  all  seceded,  they  were  then  lost  by  but 
one  vote.  Here  is  the  vote  : 

"  '  YEAS.— Messrs.  Bayard,  Bigler,  Bright,  Critten- 
den,  Douglas,  Gwin,  Hunter,  Johnson  of  Tennessee, 
Kennedy,  Lane,  Latham,  Mason,  Nicholson,  Polk, 
Pugh,  Rice,  Sebastian,  Thomson,  and  Wigfall — 19. 

"  '  NAYS. — Messrs.  Anthony,  Bingham,  Chandler, 
Clark,  Dixon,  Doolittle,  Durkcc,  Fessenden,  Foot,  Fos 
ter,  Grimes,  Harlan,  King,  Morrill,  Sumner,  Ten  Eyck, 
Trumbull,  Wade,  Wilkinson,  and  Wilson— 20.' 

"  '  If  these  seceding  Southern  senators  had  remained, 
there  would  have  passed,  by  a  large  vote  (as  it  did 
without  them),  an  amendment,  by  a  two-thirds  vote, 
forbidding  Congress  ever  interfering  with  slavery  in 
the  States.  The  Crittendcn  proposition  would  have 
been  indorsed  by  a  majority  vote,  the  subject  finally 
going  before  the  people,  who  have  never  yet,  after 
consideration,  refused  justice,  for  any  length  of  time, 
to  any  portion  of  the  country. 

"  '  I  believe  more,  Mr.  President,  that  these  gentle 
men  were  acting  in  pursuance  of  a  settled  and  fixed 
plan  to  break  up  and  destroy  this  Government.' 

"  When  we  had  it  in  our  power  to  vote  down  the 
amendment  of  the  senator  from  New  Hampshire,  and 
adopt  the  Crittenden  resolutions,  certain  Southern 
senators  prevented  it;  and  yet,  even  at  a  late  day  of 
the  session,  after  they  had  seceded,  the  Crittenden 
proposition  was  ority  lost  by  ono  vote.  If  rebellion 


SERVICES   AND    SPEECHES.  169 

and  bloodshed  and  murder  have  followed,  to  whose 
skirts  does  the  responsibility  attach  ?  I  summed  up 
all  these  facts  myself  in  a  speech  during  the  last  ses 
sion  ;  but  I  have  preferred  to  read  from  the  speech 
of  the  senator  from  California,  he  being  better  author 
ity,  and  having  presented  the  facts  better  than  I 
could. 

"  What  else  was  done  at  the  very  same  session  ? 
The  House  of  Representatives  passed,  and  sent  to  this 
body,  a  proposition  to  amend  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  so  as  to  prohibit  Congress  from  ever 
hereafter  interfering  with  the  institution  of  slavery  in 
the  States,  making  that  restriction  a  part  of  the  or 
ganic  law  of  the  land.  That  constitutional  amendment 
came  here  after  the  senators  from  seven  States  had 
seceded;  and  yet  it  was  passed  by  a  two-thirds  vote 
in  the  Senate.  Have  you  ever  heard  of  any  one  of 
the  States  which  had  then  seceded,  or  which  has  since 
seceded,  taking  up  that  amendment  to  the  Constitu 
tion,  and  saying  they  would  ratify  it,  and  make  it  a 
part  of  that  instrument  ?  No.  Does  not  the  whole 
history  of  this  rebellion  tell  you  that  it  was  revolution 
that  the  leaders  wanted,  that  they  started  for,  that 
they  intended  to  have  ?  The  facts  to  which  I  have 
referred  show  how  the  Crittenden  proposition  might 
have  been  carried;  and  when  the  senators  from  the 
Slave  States  were  reduced  to  one-fourth  of  the  mem 
bers  of  this  body,  the  two  Houses  passed  a  proposition 
to  amend  the  Constitution,  so  as  to  guarantee  to  the 
States  perfect  security  in  regard  to  the  institution  of 
slavery  in  all  future  time,  and  prohibiting  Congress 
from  legislating  on  the  subject. 

"But  what  more  was  done  ?  After  Southern  sena- 
8 


170  ANDREW   JOHNSOX. 

tors  had  treacherously  abandoned  the  Constitution  and 
deserted  their  posts  here,  Congress  passed  bills  for 
the  organization  of  three  new  territories — Dakotah,  Ne 
vada,  and  Colorado  ;  and  in  the  sixtli  section  of  each 
of  those  bills,  after  conferring,  affirmatively,  power  on 
the  Territorial  Legislature,  it  went  on  to  exclude  cer 
tain  powers  by  using  a  negative  form  of  expression  ; 
and  it  provided,  among  other  things,  that  the  Legis 
lature  should  have  no  power  to  legislate  so  as  to  im 
pair  the  right  to  private  property;  that  it  should  lay 
no  tax  discriminating  against  one  description  of  prop 
erty  in  favor  of  another  ;  leaving  the  power  on  all 
these  questions,  not  in  the  Territorial  Legislature,  but 
in  the  people  when  they  should  come  to  form  a  State 
constitution. 

"  Now,  I  ask,  taking  the  amendment  to  the  Consti 
tution,  and  taking  the  three  territorial  bills,  embra 
cing  every  square  inch  of  territory  in  the  possession  of 
the  United  States,  how  much  of  the  slavery  question 
was  left?  What  better  compromise  could  have  been 
made  ?  Still,  we  are  told  that  matters  might  have 
been  compromised  ;  and  that  if  we  had  agreed  to 
compromise,  bloody  rebellion  would  not  now  be 
abroad  in  the  land.  Sir,  Southern  senators  are  re 
sponsible  for  it.  They  stood  here  with  power  to  ac 
complish  the  result,  and  yet  treacherously,  and,  I  may 
say,  tauntingly,  they  left  this  chamber,  and  announced 
that  they  had  dissolved  their  connection  with  the 
Government.  Then,  when  we  were  left  in  the  hands 
of  those  whom  we  had  been  taught  to  believe  would 
encroach  upon  our  rights,  they  gave  us,  in  the  consti 
tutional  amendment  and  in  the  three  territorial  bills, 
all  that  had  ever  been  asked  ;  and  yet  gentlemen  talk 


SERVICES    AND   SPEECHES.  171 

about  compromise  !  Why  was  not  this  taken  and 
accepted  ? 

"  No ;  it  was  not  compromise  that  the  leaders 
wanted  ;  they  wanted  power  ;  they  wanted  to  destroy 
this  Government,  so  that  they  might  have  place  and 
emolument  for  themselves.  They  had  lost  confidence 
in  the  intelligence,  and  virtue,  and  integrity  of  the 
people,  and  their  capacity  to  govern  themselves  ;  and 
they  intended  to  separate  and  form  a  government,  the 
chief  corner-stone  of  which  should  be  slavery,  dis 
franchising  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  of  which  we 
have  seen  constant  evidence,  and  merging  the  powers 
of  government  in  the  hands  of  the  few.  I  know  what 
I  say.  I  know  their  feelings  and  their  sentiments. 
I  served  in  the  Senate  here  with  them.  I  know  they 
were  a  close  corporation,  that  had  no  more  confidence 
in  or  respect  for  the  people  than  has  the  Dey  of  Al 
giers.  I  fought  that  close  corporation  here.  I  knew 
that  they  were  no  friends  of  the  people.  I  knew,that 
Slidell,  and  Mason,  and  Benjamin,  and  Iverson,  and 
Toombs  were  the  enemies^  of  free  government,  and  I 
know  so  now.  I  commenced  the  war  upon  them  be 
fore  a  State  seceded  ;  and  I  intend  to  keep  on  fight 
ing  this  great  battle  before  the  country  for  the  per 
petuity  of  free  government.  They  seek  to  overthrow 
it,  and  to  establish  a  despotism  in  its  place.  That  is 
the  great  battle  which  is  upon  our  hands.  The  great 
interests  of  civil  liberty  and  free  government  call 
upon  every  patriot  and  every  lover  of  popular  rights 
to  come  forward  and  discharge  his  duty. 

"  We  see  this  great  struggle  ;  we  see  that  the  ex 
ercise  of  the  vital  principle  of  government  itself  is 
denied  by  those  who  desire  our  institutions  to  be 


172  ANDREW    JOHNSON 

overtnrown  and  despotism  established  on  tneir  ruins 
If  we  have  not  the  physical  arid  moral  courage  to  ex 
clude  from  our  midst  men  whom  we  believe  to  be  un 
safe  depositories  of  public  power  and  public  trust, — 
men  whose  associates  were  rolling'  off  honeyed  ac 
cents  against  coercion,  and  are  now  in  the  traitors' 
camp, — if  we  have  not  the  courage  to  force  these  men 
from  our  midst,  because  we  have  known  them,  and 
have  been  personal  friends  with  them  for  years,  we 
are  not  entitled  to  sit  here  as  senators  ourselves. 
Can  you  expect  your  brave  men,  your  officers  and 
soldiers  who  are  now  in  '  the  tented  field,'  subject  to 
all  the  hardships  and  privations  pertaining  to  a  civil 
war  like  this,  to  have  courage,  and  to  march  on  with 
patriotism  to  crush  treason  on  every  battle-field,  when 
you  have  not  the  courage  to  expel  it  from  your  midst? 
Set  those  brave  men  an  example  ;  say  to  them  by 
your  acts  and  voice  that  you  evidence  your  intention 
to  put  down  traitors  in  the  field  by  ejecting  them 
from  your  midst,  without  regard  to  former  associ 
ations. 

"  I  do  not  say  these  things  in  unkindness.  I  say 
them  in  obedience  to  duty,  a  high  constitutional  duty 
that  I  owe  to  my  country  ;  yes,  sir,  that  I  owe  to  my 
wife  and  children.  By  your  failure  to  exercise  the 
powers  of  this  Government,  by  your  failure  to  enforce 
the  laws  of  the  Union,  I  am  separated  from  those 
most  dear  to  me.  Pardon  me,  sir,  for  this  personal 
allusion.  My  wile  and  children  have  been  turned  into 
the  street,  and  my  house  has  been  turned  into  a  bar 
rack  ;  and  for  what  ?  Because  I  stand  by  the  Con 
stitution  and  the  institutions  of  the  country  that  I 
have  been  taught  to  love,  respect,  and  venerate.  Tin's 


SERVICES   AND    SPEECHES.  173 

is  my  offence.  Where  arc  my  sons-in-law  ?  One  to 
day  is  lying  in  prison  ;  another  is  forced  to  fly  to  the 
mountains  to  evade  the  pursuit  of  the  hell-born  and 
hell-bound  conspiracy  of  disunion  and  secession  ;  and 
when  their  cries  come  up  here  to  you  for  protection, 
we  are  told,  '  No  ;  I  am  against  the  entire  coercive 
policy  of  the  Government.' 

"  The  speech  of  the  senator  from  California,  the 
other  day,  had  the  effect  in  some  degree,  and  seemed 
to  be  intended  to  give  the  question  a  party  tinge.  If 
I  know  myself, — although,  as  I  avowed  before,  I  am 
a  Democrat,  and  expect  to  live  and  die  one, — I  know 
no  party  in  this  great  struggle  for  the  existence,  of 
my  country.  The  argument  presented  by  the  senator 
from  California  was  that  we  need  not  be  in  such  hot 
pursuit  of  Mr.  Bright,  or  those  senators  who  entertain 
his  sentiments,  who  are  still  here,  because  we  had 
been  a  little  dilatory  in  expelling  other  traitorous  sen 
ators  heretofore  ;  and  he  referred  us  to  the  resolution 
of  the  senator  from  Maine,*  which  was  introduced  at 
the  special  session  in  March  last,  declaring  that  cer 
tain  senators  having  withdrawn,  and  their  seats  having 
thereby  become  vacant,  the  secretary  should  omit  their 
names  from  the  roll  of  the  Senate.  I  know  there  seemed 
to  be  a  kind  of  timidity,  a  kind  of  fear,  to  make  use  of 
the  word  'expel'  at  that  time  ;  but  the  fact  fhat  we 
declared  the  seats  vacant,  and  stopped  there,  did  not 
preclude  us  from  afterwards  passing  a  vote  of  censure. 
The  resolution,  which  was  adopted  in  March,  merely 
stated  the  fact  that  senators  had  withdrawn,  and  left 
their  seats  vacant.  At.  the  next  session  a  resolution 

*  Mr.  Fessenden. 


171  ANDEEW   JOHNSON. 

was  introduced  to  expel  the  other  senators  from  the 
seceded  States  who  did  not  attend  in  the  Senate;  and 
my  friend*  moved  to  strike  out  of  that  very  resolution 
the  word  'expelled,'  and  insert  'vacated;'  so  that  I  do 
not  think  he  ought  to  be  much  offended  at  it.  I  simply 
allude  to  it  to  show  how  easy  it  is  fur  us  to  forget  the 
surrounding  circumstances  that  influenced  our  action 
at  the  time  it  took  place.  We  know  that  a  year  ago 
there  was  a  deep  and  abiding  hope  that  the  rebellion 
would  not  progress  as  it  has  done;  that  it  would  cease; 
and  that  there  might  be  circumstances  which,  at  one 
time,  would  to  some  extent  justify  us  in  allowing  a 
wide  margin  which,  at  another  period  of  time,  would 
be  wholly  unjustifiable. 

"All  this,  however,  amounts  to  nothing.  We  have 
a  case  now  before  us  that  requires  our  action,  and  we 
should  act  upon  it  conscientiously  in  view  of  the  facts 
which  are  presented.  Because  we  neglected  to  expel 
traitors  before,  and  omitted  to  have  them  arrested,  and 
permitted  them  to  go  away  freely,  and  afterwards  de 
clared  their  seats  vacant  because  they  had  gone,  we 
are  not  now  prevented  from  expelling  a  senator  who 
is  not  worthy  to  be  in  the  Senate.  I  do  not  say  that 
other  traitors  may  not  be  punished  yet.  I  trust  in 
God  the  time  will  come,  and  that  before  long,  when 
these  traitors  can  be  overtaken,  and  we  may  mete  out 
to  them  condign  punishment,  such  as  their  offence  de 
serves.  I  know  who  was  for  arresting  them.  I  know 
who  declared  their  conduct  to  be  treason.  Here  in 
their  midst  I  told  them  it  was  treason,  and  they  might 
make  the  best  of  it  they  could. 

*  Mr.  Latham. 


SERVICES  AND   SPEECHES.  175 

"  Sir,  to  sum  up  the  argument,  I  think  there  is  but 
little  in  the  point  presented  by  the  senator  from  New 
Jersey,  of  there  being  no  proof  of  the  reception  of  the 
letter ;  and  I  think  I  have  extracted  the  staple  com 
modity  entirely  out  of  the  speech  of  the  senator  from 
Delaware;  and  so  far  as  the  force  of  the  argument, 
based  upon  the  Senate  having  at  one  session  expelled 
certain  members,  while  at  the  previous  session  it  only 
vacated  their  seats,  is  concerned,  I  think  the  senator 
from  California  answers  that  himself.  As  to  the  pol 
ished  and  ingenious  statement  of  the  case  made  by  the 
senator  from  New  York,*  I  think  I  have  answered 
that  by  putting  the  case  upon  a  different  basis  from 
the  one  presented  by  him,  which  seems  to  control  his 
action. 

"Mr.  President,  I  have  alluded  to  the  talk  about 
compromise.  If  I  know  myself,  there  is  no  one  who 
desires  the  preservation  of  this  Government  more  than 
I  do  ;  and  I  think  I  have  given  as  much  evidence  as 
mortal  man  could  give  of  my  devotion  to  the  Union. 
My  property  has  been  sacrificed;  my  wife  and  children 
have  been  turned  out  of  doors;  my  sons  have  been 
imprisoned  ;  my  son-in-law  has  had  to  run  to  the 
mountains;  I  have  sacrificed  a  large  amount  of  bonds 
in  trying  to  give  some  evidence  of  my  devotion  to  the 
Government  under  which  I  was  raised.  I  have  at 
tempted  to  show  you  that,  on  the  part  of  the  leaders 
of  this  rebellion,  there  was  no  desire  to  compromise: 
compromise  was  not  what  they  wanted;  and  now  the 
great  issue  before  the  country  is  the  perpetuation  or 
the  destruction  of  free  government.  I  have  shown 

*  Mr.  Harris. 


176  ANDKENV 

how  the  resolution  of  the  venerable  senator  from  Ken 
tucky*  was  defeated,  and  that  Southern  men  are  re 
sponsible  for  that  defeat — six  sitting-  in  their  places 
and  refusing  to  vote.  His  proposition  was  only  lost 
by  two  votes;  and  in  the  end,  when  the  scceders  had 
gone,  by  only  one.  Well  do  I  remember,  as  was  de 
scribed  by  the  senator  from  California,  the  sadness, 
the  gloom,  the  anguish  that  played  over  his  venerable 
face  when  the  result  was  announced  ;  and  I  went 
across  the  chamber,  and  told  him  that  here  were  men 
refusing  to  vote,  and  that  to  me  was  administered  a 
rebuke  by  one  of  them  for  speaking  to  him  on  the 
subject. 

"  Now,  the  senator  from  Delaware  tells  us  that  if 
that  compromise  had  been  made,  all  these  conse 
quences  would  have  been  avoided.  It  is  a  mere  pre 
tence;  it  is  false.  Their  object  was  to  overturn  the 
Government.  If  they  could  not  get  the  control  of  this 
Government,  they  were  willing  to  divide  the  country 
and  govern  a  part  of  it.  Talk  not  of  compromise  now. 
What,  sir,  compromise  with  traitors  with  arms  in  their 
hands  !  Talk  about  i  our  Southern  brethren '  when 
they  present  their  swords  at  your  throats  and  their 
bayonets  at  your  bosoms!  Is  this  a  time  to  talk  about 
compromise  ?  Let  me  say,  and  I  regret  that  I  have 
to  say  it,  that  there  is  but  one  way  to  compromise  this 
matter,  and  that  is  to  crush  the  leaders  of  this  rebel 
lion  and  put  down  treason.  You  have  g*ot  to  subdue' 
them;  you  have  got  to  conquer  them  ;  and  nothing 
but  the  sacrifice  of  life  and  blood  will  do  it.  The  is 
sue  is  made.  The  leaders  of  rebellion  have  decreed 

*  Mr.  Crittenden. 


SEEVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  177 

eternal  separation  between  you  and  them.  Those 
leaders  must  be  conquered,  and  a  new  set  of  men 
brought  forward  who  are  to  vitalize  and  develop  the 
Union  feeling-  in  the  South.  You  must  show  your 
courage  here  as  senators,  and  impart  it  to  those  who 
are  in  the  field.  If  you  were  now  to  compromise,  they 
would  believe  that  they  could  whip  you  one  to  five, 
and  you  could  not  live  in  peace  six  months,  or  even 
three  months.  Settle  the  question  now;  settle  it  well; 
settle  it  finally;  crush  out  the  rebellion  and  punish  the 
traitors.  I  want  to  see  peace,  and  I  believe  that  is 
the  shortest  way  to  get  it.  Blood  must  be  shed,  life 
must  be  sacrificed,  and  you  may  as  well  begin  at  first 
as  last.  I  only  regret  that  the  Government  has  been 
so  tardy  in  its  operations.  I  wish  the  issue  had  been 
met  sooner.  I  believe  that  if  we  had  seen  as  much  in 
the  beginning  as  we  see  to-day,  this  rebellion  would 
have  been  wound  up  and  peace  restored  to  the  land  by 
this  time. 

"  But  let  us  go  on  ;  let  us  encourage  the  army  and 
the  navy;  let  us  vote  the  men  and  the  means  neces 
sary  to  vitalize  and  to  bring  into  requisition  the  en 
forcing  and  coercive  power  of  the  Government;  let  us 
crush  out  the  rebellion,  and  anxiously  look  forward  to 
the  day — God  grant  it  may  come  soon — when  that 
baleful  comet  of  fire  and  of  blood  that  now  hovers  over 
this  distracted  people  may  be  chased  away  by  the 
'benignant  star  of  peace.  Let  us  look  forward  to  the 
time  when  we  can  take  the  flag,  the  glorious  flag  of 
our  country,  and  nail  it  below  the  cross,  and  there  let 
it  wave  as  it  waved  in  the  olden  time,  and  let  us 
gather  around  it,  and  inscribe  as  our  motto,  '  Liberty 
and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable.' 
«* 


178  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

Let  us  gather  around  it,  and  while  it  hangs  floating 
beneath  the  cross,  let  us  exclaim,  '  Christ  first,  our 
country  next.'  Oh,  how  gladly  rejoiced  I  should  be 
to  see  the  dove  returning  to  the  ark  with  the  olive-leaf, 
indicating  that  land  was  found,  and  that  the  mighty 
waters  had  abated.  I  trust  the  time  will  soon  come 
when  we  can  do  as  they  did  in  the  olden  times,  when 
the  stars  sang  together  in  the  morning,  and  all  creation 
proclaimed  the  glory  of  God.  Then  let  us  do  our  duty 
in  the  Senate  and  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  and 
thereby  stimulate  our  brave  officers  and  soldiers  to  do 
theirs  in  the  field. 

"  Mr.  President,  I  have  occupied  the  attention  of  the 
Senate  much  longer  than  I  intended.  In  view  of  the 
whole  case,  without  personal  unkind  feeling  towards 
the  senator  from  Indiana,  I  am  of  opinion  that  duty  to 
myself,  duty  to  my  family,  duty  to  the  Constitution, 
duty  to  the  country,  obedience  to  the  public  judgment, 
all  lequire  me  to  cast  my  vote  to  expel  Mr.  Bright  from 
the  Senate,  and  when  the  occasion  arrives  I  shall  so 
record  my  vote." 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  179 


CHAPTEE  VL 

APPEAL  TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  TENNESSEE, 

*'  FELLOW-CITIZENS  : — Tennessee  assumed  the  form  of 
a  body  politic,  as  one  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
in  the  year  seventeen  hundred  and  ninety-six,  at  once 
entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  Federal  Constitu 
tion,  and  bound  by  all  its  obligations.  For  nearly 
sixty-five  years  she  continued  in  the  enjoyment  of  all 
her  rights,  and  in  the  performance  of  all  her  duties, 
one  of  the  most  loyal  and  devoted  of  the  sisterhood 
of  States,  She  had  been  honored  by  the  elevation  of 
two  of  her  citizens  to  the  highest  place  in  the  gift  of 
the  American  people,  and  a  third  had  been  nominated 
for  the  same  high  office,  who  received  a  liberal  though 
ineffective  support.  Her  population  had  rapidly  and 
largely  increased,  and  their  moral  and  material  in 
terests  correspondingly  advanced.  Never  was  a 
people  more  prosperous,  contented,  and  happy  than 
the  people  of  Tennessee  under  the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  and  none  less  burdened  for  the 
support  of-  the  authority  by  which  they  were  pro- 
tectevd.  They  felt  their  Government  only  in  the  con 
scious  enjoyment  of  the  benefits  it  conferred  and  the 
blessings  it  bestowed. 

"  Such  was  our  enviable  condition  until  within  the 


180  JLNDKEW    JOHNSON. 


year  just  past,  when,  under  what  baneful  influences 
it  is  not  my  purpose  now  to  inquire,  the  authority  of 
the  Government  was  set  at  defiance,  and  the  Con 
stitution  and  laws  contemned,  by  a  rebellious,  armed 
force.  Men  who,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  privi 
leges  and  duties  of  the  citizen,  had  enjoyed  largely 
the  bounty  and  official  patronage  of  the  Government, 
and  had,  by  repeated  oaths,  obligated  themselves  to 
its  support,  with  sudden  ingratitude  for  the  bounty 
and  disregard  of  their  solemn  obligation,  engaged, 
deliberately  and  ostentatiously,  in  the  accomplish 
ment  of  its  overthrow.  Many,  accustomed  to  defer 
to  their  opinions  and  to  accept  their  guidance,  and 
others,  carried  away  by  excitement  or  overawed  by 
seditious  clamor,  arrayed  themselves  under  their  ban 
ners,  thus  organizing  a  treasonable  power,  which,  for 
the  time  being,  stifled  and  suppressed  the  authority  of 
the  Federal  Government. 

"  In  this  condition  of  affairs  it  devolved  upon  the 
President,  bound  by  his  official  oath  to  preserve, 
protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution,  and  charged  by 
the  law  with  the  duty  of  suppressing  insurrection 
and  domestic  violence,  to  resist  and  repel  this  rebel 
lious  force  by  the  military  arm  of  the  Government, 
and  thus  to  re-establish  the  Federal  authority.  Con 
gress,  assembling  at  an  early  day,  found  him  en 
gaged  in  the  active  discharge  of  this  momentous 
und  responsible  trust.  That  body  came  promptly 
to  his  aid,  and  while  supplying  him  with  treasure 
HJ.U!  anus  to  au  extent  that  would  previously  have- 
born  considered  fabulous,  they,  at  the  same  time, 
with  almost  absolute  unanimity,  declared  '  that  this 
\var.  is  not  \vajfed  on  their  part  in  any  spirit  of  o\v 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  181 

pression,  nor  for  any  purpose  of  conquest  or  sub 
jugation,  nor  purpose  of  overthrowing  or  interfering 
with  the  rights  or  the  established  institutions  of  these 
States  ;  but  to  defend  and  maintain  the  supremacy 
of  the  Constitution  and  to  preserve  the  Union,  with 
all  the  dignity,  equality,  and  rights  of  the  several 
States  unimpaired  ;  and  that  as  soon  as  these  ob 
jects  are  accomplished,  the  war  ought  to  cease.'  In 
this  spirit,  and  by  such  co-operation,  has  the  Pres 
ident  conducted  this  mighty  contest,  until,  as  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  of  the  Army,  he  has  caused  the 
national  flag  again  to  float  undisputed  over  the  capi- 
tol  of  our  State.  Meanwhile  the  State  government 
has  disappeared.  The  Executive  has  abdicated  ;  the 
Legislature  has  dissolved  ;  the  Judiciary  is  in  abey 
ance.  The  great  ship  of  state,  freighted  with  its 
precious  cargo  of  human  interests  and  human  hopes, 
its  sails  all  set,  and  its  glorious*  old  flag  unfurled,  has 
been  suddenly  abandoned  by  its  officers  and  mutinous 
crew,  and  left  to  float  at  the  mercy  of  the  winds,  and 
to  be  plundered  by  every  rover  upon  the  deep.  In 
deed  the,  work  of  plunder  has  already  commenced. 
The  archives  have  been  desecrated  ;  the  public  prop 
erty  stolen  and  destroyed  ;  the  vaults  of  the  State 
Bank  violated,  and  its  treasures  robbed,  including  the 
funds  carefully  gathered  and  consecrated  for  all  time 
to  the  instruction  of  our  children. 

"  In  such  a  lamentable  crisis  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  could  not  be  unmindful  of  its 
high  constitutional  obligation  to  guarantee  to  every 
State  in  this  Union  a  republican  form  of  govern 
ment,  an  obligation  which  every  State  has  a  direct 
and  immediate  interest  in  having  observed  towards 


182  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

every  other  State  ;  and  from  which,  by  no  action  on 
the  part  of  the  people  in  any  State,  can  the  Federal 
Government  be  absolved.  A  republican  form  of 
government,  in  consonance  with  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  is  one  of  the  fundamental  con 
ditions  of  our  political  existence,  by  which  every 
part  of  the  country  is  alike  bound,  and  from  which 
no  part  can  escape.  This  obligation  the  national 
Government  is  now  attempting  to  discharge.  I  have 
been  appointed,  in  the  absence  of  the  regular  and 
established  State  authorities,  as  Military  Governor 
for  the  time  being,  to  preserve  the  public  property 
of  the  State,  to  give  the  protection  of  law  actively  en 
forced  to  her  citizens,  and,  as  speedily  as  may  be,  to 
restore  her  government  to  the  same  condition  as  be 
fore  the  existing  rebellion. 

"  In  this  grateful  but  arduous  undertaking,  I  shall 
avail  myself  of  all  the  aid  that  may  be  afforded  by 
my  fellow-citizens.  And  for  this  purpose  I  respect 
fully  but  earnestly  invite  all  the  people  of  Tennessee, 
desirous  or  willing  to  see  a  restoration  of  her  ancient 
government,  without  distinction  of  party  affiliations 
or  past  political  opinions  or  action,  to  unite  with  me, 
by  counsel  and  co-operative  agency,  to  accomplish 
this  great  end.  I  find  most,  if  not  all  of  the  offices, 
both  State  and  Federal,  vacated,  either  by  actual 
abandonment,  or  by  the  action  of  the  incumbents  in 
attempting  to  subordinate  their  functions  to  a  power 
in  hostility  to  the  fundamental  law  of  the  State,  and 
subversive  of  her  national  allegiance.  These  offices 
must  be  filled  temporarily,  until  the  State  shall  be  re 
stored  so  far  to  its  accustomed  quiet,  that  the  people 
can  peaceably  assemble  at  the  ballot-box  and  select 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  183 

agents  of  their  own  choice.  Otherwise  anarchy  would 
prevail,  and  no  man's  life  or  property  would  be  safe 
from  the  desperate  and  unprincipled. 

"  I  shall  therefore,  as  early  as  practicable,  designate 
for  various  positions  under  the  State  and  county  gov 
ernments,  from  among  my  fellow-citizens,  persons  of 
probity  and  intelligence,  and  bearing  true  allegiance 
to  the  Constitution  and  Government  of  the  United 
States,  who  will  execute  the  functions  of  their  re 
spective  offices  until  their  places  can  be  filled  by  the 
action  of  the  people.  Their  authority,  when  their  ap 
pointment  shall  have  been  made,  will  be  accordingly 
respected  and  observed. 

"  To  the  people  themselves  the  protection  of  the 
Government  is  extended.  All  their  rights  will  be 
duly  respected,  and  their  wrongs  redressed  when 
made  known.  Those  who  through  the  dark  and 
weary  night  of  the  rebellion  have  maintained  their 
allegiance  to  the  Federal  Government  will  be  hon 
ored.  The  erring  and  misguided  will  be  welcomed 
on  their  return.  And  while  it  may  become  necessary, 
in  vindicating  the  violated  majesty  of  the  law,  and  in 
reasserting  its  imperial  sway,  to  punish  intelligent 
and  conscious  treason  in  high  places,  no  merely  re 
taliatory  or  vindictive  policy  will  be  adopted.  To 
those  especially  who,  in  a  private,  unofficial  capacity, 
have  assumed  an  attitude  of  hostility  to  the  Govern 
ment,  a  full  and  complete  amnesty  for  all  past  acts 
and  declarations  is  offered,  upon  the  one  condition  of 
their  again  yielding  themselves  peaceful  citizens  to 
the  just  supremacy  of  the  laws.  This  I  advise  them 
to  do  for  their  own  good,  and  for  the  peace  and  wel 
fare  of  our  beloved  State,  endeared  to  me  by  the  asso- 


184  ANDKEW   JOHNSON. 

ciations  of  long  and  active  years,  and  by  the  enjoy 
ment  of  her  highest  honors. 

*"And  appealing  to  my  fellow-citizens  of  Tennessee, 
I  point  you  to  my  long  public  life  as  a  pledge  for  the 
sincerity  of  my  motives,  and  an  earnest  for  the  per 
formance  of  my  present  and  future  duties." 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  185 


CHAPTER  VII. 

NOMINATED  FOE  THE  VICE-PRESIDENCY. 

After  sustaining,  by  voice  and  vote  in  the  Sen 
ate,  every  measure  calculated  to  secure  a  Federal 
triumph  over  the  Southern  Confederacy,  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  appointed  Andrew  Johnson  Military 
Governor  of  Tennessee,  in  the  early  spring  of 
1862.  This  appointment,  with  the  rank  of  brig 
adier-general,  was  confirmed  by  the  Senate  on 
the  5th  of  March,  and  he  immediately  left  Wash 
ington  for  Nashville,  and  entered  upon  his  new 
and  responsible  position.  No  appointment  could 
be  more  appropriate,  and  the  country  soon  felt 
that  the  right  man  was  indeed  in  the  right  place. 
Every  proclamation,  every  address,  every  act 
received  general  and  hearty  approbation,  and  in 
the  desperate  siege  sustained  by  Nashville  against 
a  strong  Confederate  force  in  the  autumn  of  the 
same  year,  the  governor  was  first  and  foremost 
in  aiding  and  encouraging  the  defenders  of  the 
city.  "  I  am  not  a  soldier,  he  said,  "  but  I  will 
shoot  any  one  who  talks  of  surrender."  His  con 
duct  as  Governor  of  Tennessee,  added  to  his 
former  course  in  the  Senate,  so  increased  his 


1S6  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

popularity  among  the  Northern  masses,  that  on 
the  6th  of  June,  1864,  he  was  unanimously  nom 
inated  by  the  Union  Convention,  assembled  at 
Baltimore,  as  the  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presi 
dency  of  the  United  States.  On  accepting  the 
nomination  he  addressed  to  the  committee  the 
following  clear  and  comprehensive  communica 
tion  : 

"  NASHVILLE,  TENN.,  July  2,  1864. 

"  HON.  WILLIAM  DEXXISOX,  Chairman,  and  others,  Com 
mittee  of  the  National  Union  Convention : 

"  GENTLEMEN  :  Your  communication  of  the  9th  ult., 
informing  me  of  my  nomination  for  the  Vice-Presi 
dency  of  the  United  States  by  the  National  Conven 
tion  held  at  Baltimore,  and  inclosing  a  copy  of  the 
resolutions  adopted  by  that  body,  was  not  received 
until  the  25th  ult. 

"A  reply  on  my  part  had  been  previously  made  to 
the  action  of  the  convention  in  presenting  my  name, 
in  a  speech  delivered  in  this  city  on  the  evening  suc 
ceeding  the  day  of  the  adjournment  of  the  convention, 
in  which  I  indicated  my  acceptance  of  the  distin 
guished  honor  conferred  by  that  body,  and  defined  the 
grounds  upon  which  that  acceptance  was  based,  sub 
stantially  saying  what  I  now  have  to  say.  From  the 
comments  made  upon  that  speech  by  the  various 
presses  of  the  country  to  which  my  attention  has  been 
directed,  I  considered  it  to  be  regarded  as  a  full 
acceptance. 

"  In  view,  however,  of  the  desire  expressed  in  your 
communication,  I  will  more  fully  allude  to  a  few  points 
that  have  bren  heretofore  presented. 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  187 

"  M}'  opinions  on  the  loading1  questions  at  present 
agitating1  and  distracting  the  public  mind,  and  espe 
cially  in  reference  to  the  rebellion  now  being  waged 
against  the  Government  and  authority  of  the  United 
States,  I  presume  are  generally  understood.  Before 
the  Southern  people  assumed  a  belligerent  attitude 
(and  repeatedly  since),  I  took  occasion  most  frankly 
to  declare  the  views  I  then  entertained  in  relation  to 
the  wicked  purposes  of  the  Southern  politicians. 
They  have  since  undergone  but  little,  if  any,  change. 
Time  and  subsequent  events  have  rather  confirmed 
than  diminished  my  confidence  in  their  correctness. 

"At  the  beginning  of  this  great  struggle  I  enter 
tained  the  same  opinion  of  it  I  do  now,  and  in  my 
place  in  the  Senate  I  denounced  it  as  treason,  worthy 
the  punishment  of  death,  and  warned  the  Government 
and  people  of  the  impending  danger.  But  my  voice 
was  not  heard  or  counsel  heeded  until  it  was  too  late 
to  avert  the  storm.  It  still  continued  to  gather  over 
us  without  molestation  from  the  authorities  at  Wash 
ington,  until  at  length  it  broke  with  all  its  fury  upon 
the  country.  And  now,  if  we  would  save  the  Govern 
ment  from  being  overwhelmed  by  it,  we  must  meet  it 
in  the  true  spirit  of  patriotism,  and  bring  traitors  to 
the  punishment  due  their  crime,  and,  by  force  of  arms, 
crush  out  and  subdue  the  last  vestige  of  rebel  au 
thority  in  every  State.  I  felt  then,  as  now,  that 
the  destruction  of  the  Government  was  deliberately 
determined  upon  by  wicked  and  designing  conspira 
tors,  whose  lives  arid  fortunes  were  pledged  to  carry 
it  out ;  and  that  no  compromise,  short  of  an  uncon 
ditional  recognition  of  the  independence  of  the  South 
ern  States  could  have  been,  or  could  now  be  proposed, 


188  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

which  they  would  accept.  The  ehjmor  for  'Southern 
Rights/  as  the  rebel  journals  won?  pleased  to  desig 
nate  their  rallying  cry,  Avas  not  to  secure  their  as 
sumed  rights  in  the  Union  and  under  the  Constitution, 
but  to  disrupt  the  Government,  and  establish  an  inde 
pendent  organization,  based  upon  slavery,  which  they 
could  at  all  times  control. 

"  The  separation  of  the  Government  lias  for  years 
past  been  the  cherished  purpose  of  the  Southern  lead 
ers.  Baffled  in  1832  by  the  stern,  patriotic  heroism 
of  Andrew  Jackson,  they  sullenly  acquiesced,  only  to 
mature  their  diabolical  schemes,  and  await  the  recur 
rence  of  a  more  favorable  opportunity  to  execute  them. 
Then  the  pretext  was  the  tariff,  and  Jackson,  after 
foiling  their  schemes  of  nullification  and  disunion, 
with  prophetic  perspicacity  warned  the  country 
against  the  renewal  of  their  efforts  to  dismember  the 
Government. 

"In  a  letter,  dated  May  1,  1833,  to  the  Rev.  A.  J. 
Crawford,  after  demonstrating  the  heartless  insin 
cerity  of  the  Southern  nullifiers,  he  said  :  '  Therefore 
the  tariff  was  only  a  pretext,  and  disunion  and  a 
Southern  Confederacy  the  real  object.  The  next  pre 
text  will  be  the  negro  or  slavery  question.' 

"  Time  has  fully  verified  this  prediction,  and  wo 
have  now  not  only  '  the  negro  or  slavery  question,' 
as  the  pretext,  but  the  real  cause  of  the  rebellion,  and 
both  must  g*o  down  together.  It  is  vain  to  attempt 
to  reconstruct  the  Union  with  the  distracting  element 
of  slavery  in  it.  Experience  has  demonstrated  its 
incompatibility  with  free  and  republican  government, 
and  it  would  be  unwise  and  unjust  longer  to  continue 
it  as  one  of  the  institutions  of  the  conn*  v.  While  it 


SERVICES    AND   SPEECHES.  189 

remained  subordinate  to  the  Constitution  and  laws  of 
the  United  States,  I  yielded  to  it  my  support ;  but 
when  it  became  rebellious,  and  attempted  to  rise 
above  the  Government,  and  control  its  action,  I  threw 
my  humble  influence  against  it. 

"  The  authority  of  the  Government  is  supreme,  and 
will  admit  of  no  rivalry.  No  institution  can  rise 
above  it,  whether  it  be  slavery  or  any  other  organized 
power.  In  our  happy  form  of  government  all  must 
be  subordinate  to  the  will  of  the  people,  when  re 
flected  through  the  Constitution  and  laws  made  pur 
suant  thereto,  State  or  Federal.  This  great  principle 
lies  at  the  foundation  of  every  Government,  and  can 
not  be  disregarded  without  the  destruction  of  the 
Government  itself.  In  the  support  and  practise  of 
correct  principles  we  can  never  reach  wrong  results  ; 
and  by  rigorously  adhering  to  this  great  fundamental 
truth,  the  end  will  be  the  preservation  of  the  Union, 
and  the  overthrow  of  an  institution  which  has  made 
war  upon  and  attempted  the  destruction  of  the  Gov 
ernment  itself. 

"  The  mode  by  which  this  great  change — the  eman 
cipation  of  the  slave — can  be  effected,  is  properly 
found  in  the  power  to  amend  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  This  plan  is  effectual  and  of  no  doubt 
ful  authority ;  and  while  it  does  not  contravene  the 
timely  exercise  of  the  war-power  by  the  President  in 
his  emancipation  proclamation,  it  comes  stamped  with 
the  authority  of  the  people  themselves,  acting  in  ac 
cordance  with  the  written  rule  of  the  supreme  law  of 
the  land,  arid  must  therefore  give  more  general  satis 
faction  and  quietude  to  the  distracted  public  mind. 

"By  recuVring  to  the  principles  contained  in  the 


190  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

resolutions  so  unanimously  adopted  by  the  convention, 
I  find  that  they  substantially  accord  with  my  public 
acts  and  opinions  heretofore1  made  known  and  ex 
pressed,  and  are  therefore  most  cordialhr  indorsed  and 
approved,  and  the  nomination,  having  been  conferred 
without  any  solicitation  on  my  part,  is  with  the  greater 
pleasure  accepted. 

"In  accepting  the  nomination  I  might  here  close, 
but  I  cannot  forego  the  opportunity  of  saying  to  my 
old  friends  of  the  Democratic  party  proper,  with  whom 
I  have  so  long  and  pleasantly  been  associated,  that 
the  hour  has  now  come  when  that  great  party  can 
justly  vindicate  its  devotion  to  true  Democratic  policy 
and  measures  of  expediency.  The  war  is  a  war  of 
great  principles.  It  involves  the  supremacy  and  life 
of  the  Government  itself.  If  the  rebellion  triumphs, 
free  government — North  and  South — fails.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  Government  is  successful — as  I  do  not 
doubt — its  destiny  is  fixed,  its  basis  permanent  and 
enduring,  and  its  career  of  honor  and  glory  just  be 
gun.  In  a  great  contest  like  this  for  the  existence  of 
free  government,  the  path  of  duty  is  patriotism  and 
principle.  Minor  considerations  and  questions  of 
administrative  policy  should  give  way  to  the  higher 
duty  of  first  preserving  the  Government ;  and  then 
there  will  be  time  enough  to  wrangle  over  the  men 
and  measures  pertaining  to  its  administration. 

"This  is  not  the  hour  for  strife  and  division  among 
ourselves.  Such  differences  of  opinion  only  encourage 
the  enemy,  prolong  the  war,  and  waste  the  country. 
Unity  of  action  and  concentration  of  power  should  be 
our  watchword  and  rallying  cry.  This  accomplished, 
the  time  will  rapidly  approach  when  their  armies  in 


SEKVICES  AND   SPEECHES.  191 

the  field — that  great  power  of  the  rebellion — will  be 
broken  and  crushed  by  our  gallant  officers  and  brave 
soldiers;  and  ere  long  they  will  return  to  their  homes 
and  firesides  to  resume  again  the  avocations  of  peace, 
with  the  proud  consciousness  that  they  have  aided  in 
the  noble  work  of  re-establishing  upon  a  surer  and 
more  permanent  basis  the  great  temple  of  American 
Freedom. 

"  I  am,  gentlemen,  with  sentiments  of  high  regard, 
"  Yours  truly, 

"ANDREW  JOHNSON." 


192  ANDRE?/    JOHNSON. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

TAKES  THE  OATH  AS  PRESIDENT. 

AT  the  warmly  contested  election  on  the  14th 
of  November,  1864,  all  the  States  voting,  except 
three,  gave  a  majority  of  their  suffrages  for 
Lincoln  and  Johnson  ;  and  when,  on  the  4th  of 
March,  1865,  the  Vice-President  elect  took  his 
seat  as  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate,  he  could  al 
ready  sec  the  end  of  the  conflict  in  which  he  had 
borne  so  active  and  memorable  a  part.  It  must 
have  been  to  him  an  occasion  full  of  just  satis 
faction  and  honorable  pride.  As  he  looked 
around  the  chamber  whose  walls  had  so  often 
echoed  with  the  tones  of  his  rebuke  of  secession 
doctrines  and  secession  acts,  as  he  saw  the  va 
cant  seats  of  a  score  of  his  former  associates  who 
were  now  wandering  fugitives,  his  bosom  must 
indeed  have  swelled  with  the  cheering  conscious 
ness  that,  at  least  in  his  case,  an  honest  and 
brave  defence  of  principle  had  been  rightly  re 
warded  by  the  applause  and  gratitude  of  his 
country.  But  Providence  had  not  destined  him 
to  remain  in  the  quiet  and  pleasant  office  to 
which  he  had  been  called  by  the  suffrages  Of  tho 


SERVICES    ANP    SPEECHES.  193 

nation.  A  wider  sphere  of  honor,  of  usefulness, 
and  of  responsibility  was  thrown  upon  him  by 
one  of  the  most  sad  and  startling  catastrophes  in 
the  wide  sweep  of  human  history.  On  the  14th 
of  April,  only  six  days  after  the  close  of  the  civil 
war  by  the  surrender  of  General  Lee  and  the 
army  of  Northern  Virginia,  Abraham  Lincoln 
fell  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  and  a  few  hours 
after  his  mournful  departure  Andrew  Johnson,, 
in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Consti 
tution,  was  inducted  into  the  exalted  position  of 
President  of  the  United  States. 

After  the  customary  oath  had  been  adminis 
tered  by  the  Chief-Justice,  President  Johnson 
delivered  the  following  feeling  and  pertinent  ad 
dress  : 

"  GENTLEMEN — I  must  be  permitted  to  say  that  I 
have  been  almost  overwhelmed  by  the  announcement 
of  the  sad  event  which  has  so  recently  occurred.  I 
feel  incompetent  to  perform  duties  so  important  and 
responsible  as  those  which  have  been  so  unexpectedly 
thrown  upon  me.  As  to  an  indication  of  any  policy 
which  may  be  pursued  by  me  in  administration  of  the 
Government,  I  have  to  say,  that  that  must  be  left 
for  development  as  the  administration  progresses. 
The  message  or  declaration  must  be  made  by  the 
acts  as  they  transpire.  The  only  assurance  that  I 
can  now  give  of  the  future,  is  by  reference  to  the 
past.  The  course  which  I  have  taken  in  the  past,  in 
connection  with  this  rebellion,  must  be  regarded  as  a 
guaranty  of  the  future.  My  past  public  life,  which 
has  been  long  and  laborious,  has  been  founded,  as  I 


194  AXDEEW    JOIIXSOX. 

in  good  conscience  believe,  upon  a  great  principle  of 
right,  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  all  things.  The  best 
energies  of  my  life  have  been  spent  in  endeavoring 
to  establish  and  perpetuate  the  principles  of  free  gov 
ernment,  and  I  believe  that  the  Government,  in  pass 
ing  through  its  present  trials,  will  settle  down  upon 
principles  consonant  with  popular  rights  more  perma 
nent  and  enduring  than  heretofore.  I  must  be  per 
mitted  to  say,  if  I  understand  the  feelings  of  my  own 
'heart,  I  have  long  labored  to  ameliorate  and  alleviate 
the  condition  of  the  great  mass  of  the  American  peo 
ple.  Toil  and  an  honest  advocacy  of  the  great  prin 
ciples  of  free  government,  have  been  my  lot.  The 
duties  have  been  mine — the  consequences  are  God's. 
This  has  been  the  foundation  of  my  political  creed.  I 
feel  that  in  the  end  the  Government  will  triumph,  and 
that  these  great  principles  will  be  permanently  estab 
lished. 

"  In  conclusion,  gentlemen,  let  me  say  that  I  want 
your  encouragement  and  countenance.  I  shall  ask 
and  rely  upon  you  and  others  in  carrying  the  Govern 
ment  through  its  present  perils.  I  feel,  in  making 
this  request,  that  it  will  be  heartily  responded  to  by 
you,  and  all  other  patriots  and  lovers  of  the  rights  and 
interests  of  a  free  people." 


SERVICES     AND   SPEECHES.  195 


CHAPTER    IX. 

BECEPTION  OF  THE  ILLINOIS  DELEGATION. 

£  ON  the  18th  of  April,  1865,  a  delegation  of  cit 
izens  of  Illinois  paid  their  respects  to  President 
Johnson,  at  his  rooms  in  the  Treasury  Building. 
Governor   Oglesby  presented   the  delegation, 
and  made  the  subjoined  address  : — 

"  MR.  PRESIDENT  : — I  take  much  pleasure  in  present 
ing  to  you  this  delegation  of  the  citizens  of  Illinois, 
representing  almost  every  portion  of  the  State.  We 
are  drawn  together  by  the  mournful  events  of  the 
past  few  days,  to  give  some  feable  expression  to  the 
feelings  we,  in  common  with  the  whole  nation,  realize 
as  pressing  us  to  the  earth,  by  appropriate  and  re 
spectful  ceremonies.  We  thought  it  not  inappropri 
ate  before  we  should  separate,  even  in  this  sad  hour, 
to  seek  this  interview  with  your  Excellency,  that, 
while  the  bleeding  heart  is  pouring  out  its  mournful 
anguish  over  the  death  of  our  beloved  late  President, 
the  idol  of  our  State  and  the  pride  of  the  whole  coun 
try,  we  may  earnestly  express  to  you,  the  living  head 
of  this  nation,  our  deliberate,  full,  and  abiding  confi 
dence  in  you  as  the  one  who,  in  these  dark  hours, 


196  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

must  bear  upon  yourself  the  mighty  responsibility  of 
maintaining,  defending,  and  directing  its  affairs.  In 
the  midst  of  this  sadness,  through  the  oppressive 
gloom  that  surrounds  us,  we  look  to  you  arid  to  a 
bright  future  for  our  country.  The  assassination  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States  deeply  depresses 
and  seriously  aggravates  the  entire  nation  ;  but  under 
our  blessed  Constitution  it  does  not  delay,  nor  for  any 
great  length  of  time  retard,  its  progress  ;  does  not  for 
an  instant  disorganize  or  threaten  its  destruction. 
The  record  of  your  whole  past  life,  familiar  to  all,  the 
splendor  of  your  recent  gigantic  efforts  to  stay  the 
hand  of  treason  and  assassination,  and  restore  the 
flag  to  the  uttermost  bounds  of  the  Republic,  assure 
that  noble  State  which  we  represent,  and,  we  believe, 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  that  we  may  safely 
trust  our  destinies  in  your  hands  ;  and  to  this  end  we 
come,  in  the  name  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  and,  we 
confidently  believe,  fully  and  faithfully  expressing  the 
wishes  of  our  people,  to  present  and  pledge  to  you 
the  cordial,  earnest,  and  unremitting  purpose  of  our 
State  to  give  your  administration  the  strong  support 
we  have  heretofore  given  to  the  administration  of  our 
lamented  late  President,  the  policy  of  whom  we  have 
heretofore,  do  now,  and  shall  continue  to  indorse." 


President  Johnson  replied  us  follows  : — 

"GENTLEMEN*  :— I  have  listened  with  profound  emo 
tion  to  the  kind  words  you  have  addressed  ton  <•. 
The  visit  of  this  large  delegation  to  spr:i!  to  me 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  197 

through  you,  sir,  these  words  of  encouragement,  I  had 
not  anticipated.  In  the  midst  of  the  saddening  cir 
cumstances  which  surround  us,  arid  the  immense 
responsibility  thrown  upon  me,  an  expression  of  the 
confidence  of  individuals,  and  still  more  of  an  influ 
ential  body  like  that  before  me,  representing  a  great 
commonwealth,  cheers  and  strengthens  my  heavily 
burdened  mind.  I  am  at  a  loss  for  words  to  respond. 
In  an  hour  like  this,  of  deepest  sorrow,  were  it  pos 
sible  to  embody  in  words  the  feelings  of  my  bosom,  I 
could  not  command  my  lips  to  utter  them.  Perhaps 
the  best  reply  I  could  make,  and  the  one  most  readily 
appropriate  to  your  kind  assurances  of  confidence, 
would  be  to  receive  them  in  silence.  [Sensation.] 
The  throbbings  of  my  heart  since  the  sad  catastrophe 
which  has  appalled  us  cannot  be  reduced  to  words  ; 
and,  oppressed  as  I  am  with  the  new  and  great  re 
sponsibility  which  has  devolved  upon  me,  and  saddened 
with  grief,  I  can  with  difficulty  respond  to  you  at  all. 
But  I  cannot  permit  such  expression  of  the  confi 
dence  reposed  in  me  by  the  people  to  pass  without 
acknowledgment.  To  an  individual  like  myself,  who 
has  never  claimed  much,  but  who  has,  it  is  true,  re 
ceived  from  a  generous  people  many  marks  of  trust 
and  honor  for  a  long  time,  an  occasion  like  this  and  a 
manifestation  of  public  feeling  so  well-timed  are  pe 
culiarly  acceptable.  Sprung  from  the  people  n^self, 
every  pulsation  of  the  popular  heart  finds  an  imme 
diate  answer  in  my  own.  By  many  men  in  public  life 
such  occasions  are  often  considered  merely  formal. 
To  me  they  are  real.  Your  words  of  countenance 
and  encouragement  sank  deep  in  my  heart,  and  were 
I  even  a  coward  I  could  not  but  gather  from  them 


198  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

strength  to  carry  out  my  convictions  of  right.  Thus 
feeling,  I  shall  enter  upon  the  discharge  of  my  great 
duty  firmly,  steadfastly  [applause],  if  not  with  the 
signal  ability  exhibited  by  my  predecessor,  which  is 
still  fresh  in  our  sorrowing  minds.  Need  I  repeat 
that  no  heart  feels  more  sensibly  than  mine  this  great 
affliction  ?  In  what  I  say  on  this  occasion  I  shall  in 
dulge  in  no  petty  spirit  of  anger,  no  feeling  of 
revenge.  But  we  have  beheld  a  notable  event  in  the 
history  of  mankind.  In  the  midst  of  the  American 
people,  where  every  citizen  is  taught  to  obey  law  and 
observe  the  rules  of  Christian  conduct,  our  Chief 
Magistrate,  the  beloved  of  all  hearts,  has  been  assas 
sinated  ;  and  when  we  trace  this  crime  to  its  cause> 
when  we  remember  the  source  whence  the  assassin 
drew  his  inspiration,  and  then  look  at  the  result,  we 
stand  yet  more  astounded  at  this  most  barbarous, 
most  diabolical  assassination.  Such  a  crime  as  the 
murder  of  a  great  and  good  man,  honored  and  revered, 
the  beloved  and  the  hope  of  the  people,  springs  not 
alone  from  a  solitary  individual  of  ever  so  desperate 
wickedness.  We  can  trace  its  cause  through  succes 
sive  steps,  without  my  enumerating  them  here,  back 
to  that  source  which  is  the  spring  of  all  our  woes. 
No  one  can  say  that  if  the  perpetrator  of  this  fiendish 
deed  be  arrested  he  should  not  undergo  the  extremest 
penalty  the  law  knows  for  crime  ;  none  will  say  that 
mercy  should  interpose.  But  is  he  alone  guilty  ? 
Here,  gentlemen,  you  perhaps  expect  me  to  present 
fcoine  indication  of  my  future  policy.  One  thing  I 
will  say.  Every  era  teaches  its  lesson.  The  times 
we  live  in  are  not  without  instruction.  The  American 
people  must  be  taught — if  they  do  not  already  feel — 


SERVICES  AND   SPEECHES.  199 

that  treason  is  a  crime,  and  must  be  punished  [ap 
plause]  ;  that  the  Government  will  not  always  bear 
with  its  enemies ;  that  it  is  strong,  not  only  to  pro 
tect,  but  to  punish.  [Applause.]  'When  we  turn  to 
the  criminal  code  and  examine  the  catalogue  of 
crimes,  we  there  find  arson  laid  down  as  a  crime  with 
its  appropriate  penalty  ;  we  find  there  theft  and  rob 
bery  and  murder  given  as  crimes  ;  and  there,  too,  we 
find  the  last  and  highest  of  crimes — treason.  [Ap 
plause.]  With  other  and  inferior  offences  our  people 
are  familiar.  But  in  our  peaceful  history  treason  has 
been  almost  unknown.  The  people  must  understand 
that  it  is  the  blackest  of  crimes,  and  will  be  surely 
punished.  [Applause.]  I  make  this  allusion,  not  to 
excite  the  already  exasperated  feelings  of  the  public, 
but  to  point  out  the  principles  of  public  justice  which 
should  guide  our  action  at  this  particular  juncture, 
and  which  accord  with  sound  public  morals.  Let  it 
be  engraven  on  every  heart  that  treason  is  a  crime, 
and  traitors  shall  suffer  its  penalty.  [Applause.] 
While  we  are  appalled,  overwhelmed  at  the  fall  of  one 
man  in  our  midst  by  the  hand  of  a  traitor,  shall  we 
allow  men — I  care  not  by  what  weapons — to  attempt 
the  life  of  a  State  with  impunity  ?  While  we  strain 
our  minds  to  comprehend  the  enormity  of  this  assas 
sination,  shall  we  allow  the  nation  to  be  assassinated  ? 
[Applause.]  I  speak  in  no  spirit  of  unkindness.  I 
leave  the  events  of  the  future  to  be  disposed  of  as 
they  arise,  regarding  myself  as  the  humble  instrument 
of  the  American  people.  In  this,  as  in  all  things, 
justice  and  judgment  shall  be  determined  by  them. 
I  do  not  harbor  bitter  or  revengeful  feelings  towards 


200  A.\Di{]-:\vr 

any.  In  general  terms,  I  would  say  that  public  mor 
als  and  public  opinion  should  be  established  upon  the 
sure  and  inflexible  principles  of  justice.  [Applause.] 
When  the  question  of  exercising1  mercy  comes  before 
rue,  it  will  be  considered  calmly,  judicially — remem 
bering'  that  I  am  the  Executive  of  the  nation.  I  know 
men  love  to  have  their  names  spoken  of  in  connection 
with  acts  of  mercy  ;  and  how  easy  it  is  to  yield  to 
this  impulse!  But  we  must  not  forget  that  what  may 
be  mercy  to  the  individual  is  cruelty  to  the  State. 
[Applause.]  In  the  exercise  of  mercy  there  should 
be  no  doubt  left  that  this  high  prerogative  is  not  used 
to  relieve  a  few  at  the  expense  of  the  many.  Be  as 
sured  that  I  shall  never  forget  that  I  ain  not  to  con 
sult  my  own  feelings  alone,  but  to  give  an  account  to 
the  whole  people.  [Applause.]  In  regard  to  my 
future  course  I  will  now  make  no  professions,  no 
pledges.  I  have  been  connected  somewhat  actively 
with  public  affairs,  and  to  the  history  of  my  past  pub 
lic  acts,  which  is  familiar  to  you,  I  refer  for  those 
principles  which  have  governed  me  heretofore,  and 
will  guide  me  hereafter.  In  general,  I  will  say  I  have 
long  labored  for  the  amelioration  and  elevation  of  the 
great  mass  of  mankind.  My  opinions  as  to  the  nature 
of  popular  government  have  long  been  cherished  ; 
and  constituted  as  I  am,  it  is  now  too  late  in  life  for 
me  to  change  them.  I  believe  that  government  was 
made  for  man,  not  man  for  government.  [Applause.]  ; 
This  struggle  of  the  people  against  the  most  gigantic 
rebellion  the  world  ever  saw  has  demonstrated  that 
the  attachment  of  the  people  to  their  Government  is 
the  strongest  national  defence  human  wisdom  can 


SERVICES   AND    SPEECHES.  201 

devise.  [Applause.]  So  long  as  each  man  feels  that 
the  interests  of  the  Government  are  his  interests ;  so 
long  as  the  public  heart  turns  in  the  right  direction, 
and  the  people  understand  and  appreciate  the  theory 
of  our  Government  and  love  liberty,  our  Constitution 
will  be  transmitted  unimpaired.  If  the  time  ever 
comes  when  the  people  shall  fail,  the  Government 
will  fail,  and  we  shall  cease  to  be  one  of  the  nations 
of  the  earth.  After  having  preserved  our  form  of  free 
government,  and  shown  its  power  to  maintain  its  ex 
istence  through  the  vicissitudes  of  nearly  a  century, 
it  may  be  that  it  was  necessary  for  us  to  pass  through 
this  last  ordeal  of  intestine  strife  to  prove  that  this 
Government  will  not  perish  from  internal  weakness, 
but  will  stand  to  defend  itself  against  all  foes  and 
punish  treason.  [Applause.]  In  the  dealings  of  an 
inscrutable  Providence  and  by  the  operation  of  the 
Constitution,  I  have  been  thrown  unexpectedly  into 
this  position.  My  past  life,  especially  my  course  dur 
ing  the  present  unholy  rebellion,  is  before  you.  I 
have  no  principles  to  retract ;  I  defy  any  one  to 
point  to  an}7  of  my  public  acts  at  variance  with  the 
fixed  principles  which  have  guided  me  through  life. 
I  have  no  professions  to  offer.  Professions  and  prom 
ises  would  be  worth  nothing  at  this  time.  No  one 
can  foresee  the  circumstances  that  will  hereafter 
arise.  Had  any  man,  gifted  with  prescience  four 
years  ago,  uttered  and  written  down  in  advance  the 
events  of  this  period,  they  would  have  seemed  more 
marvellous  than  any  thing  in  the  '  Arabian  Nights.' 
I  shall  not  attempt  to  anticipate  the  future.  As  events 
occur,  and  it  becomes  necessary  for  me  to  act,  I  shall 
dispose  of  each  as  it  arises,  deferring  any  declaration 


202  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

or  message  until   it   can  be  written,   paragraph  by 
paragraph,  in  the  light  of  events  as  they  transpire." 

The  members  of  the  delegation  were  then  sev 
erally  introduced  to  the  President  by  Governor 
Oglesby. 


SERVICES  AND   SPEECHES.  203 


CHAPTEE    X. 

BECEPTTON  OF  THE  BKITISH  AMBASSADOR. 

ON  the  20th  of  April,  1865,  Sir  Frederick  A. 
Bruce,  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Pleni 
potentiary  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty  to  the  United 
States  Government,  presenting  his  credentials  to 
the  President,  spoke  as  follows  : 

"  MR.  PRESIDENT  : — It  is  with  deep  and  sincere  concern 
that  I  have  to  accompany  my  first  official  act  with  ex 
pressions  of  condolence.  On  Saturday  last  the  cere 
mony  that  takes  place  here  to-day  was  to  have  been 
performed,  but  the  gracious  intentions  of  the  late  la 
mented  President  were  frustrated  by  the  events  which 
have  plunged  this  country  in  consternation  and  afflic 
tion,  and  which  will  call  forth  in  Great  Britain  feelings 
of  horror,  as  well  as  of^)rofound  sympathy.  It  be 
comes,  therefore,  my  duty,  sir,  to  present  the  letter 
from  my  sovereign,  of  which  I  am  the  bearer,  to  you, 
as  President  of  the  United  States;  and  it  is  with  pleas 
ure  that  I  convey  the  assurances  of  regard  and  good 
will  which  her  Majesty  entertains  towards  you,  sir,  as 
President  of  the  United  States.  I  am  further  directed 
to  express  her  Majesty's  friendly  disposition  towards 
the  great  nation  of  which  you  are  Chief  Magistrate, 


204:  ANDREW    JOHXSOX. 

and  her  hearty  good  wishes  for  its  peace,  prosperity, 
and  welfare.  Her  Majesty  has  nothing-  more  at  heart 
than  to  conciliate  those  relations  of  amity  and  good 
understanding  which  have  so  long  and  so  happily  ex 
isted  between  the  two  kindred  nations  of  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  and  it  is  in  this  spirit  that  I 
am  directed  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  important  and 
honorable  post  confided  to  me.  Permit  me,  sir,  to  say, 
that  it  shall  be  the  object  of  my  earnest  endeavors  to 
carry  out  my  instructions  faithfully  in  this  respect,  and 
to  express  the  hope,  sir,  that  you  will  favorably  con 
sider  my  attempts  to  merit  your  approbation,  and  to 
give  effect  to  the  friendly  intentions  of  the  Queen  and 
of  her  Majesty's  Government.  I  have  the  honor  to 
place  in  your  hands  the  letter  of  credence  confided  to 
me  by  her  Majesty,'7 


THE   PRESIDENT  S   REPLY. 

To  which  President  Johnson  replied  : 

"SiR  FREDERICK  A.  BRUCE: — The  very  cordial  and 
friendly  sentiments  which  you  have  expressed  on  the 
part  of  her  Britannic  Majesty  give  rnc  great  pleasure. 
Great  Britain  and  the  United? States,  by  the  extended 
and  various  forms  of  commerce  between  them,  the  con 
tiguity  of  portions  of  their  possessions,  and  the  simi 
larity  of  their  language  and  laws,  are  drawn  into  con 
stant  and  intimate  intercourse.  At  the  same  time 
they  arc,  from  the  same  causes,  exposed  to  frequent 
occasions  of  misunderstanding,  only  to  be  averted  by 
mutual  forbearance.  So  eagerly  are  the  people  of  the 
t\vu  countries  engaged,  throughout  almost  the  whole 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  205 

world,  in  the  pursuit  of  similar  commercial  enterprises, 
accompanied  by  natural  rivalries  and  jealousies,  that, 
at  first  sight,  it  would  almost  seem  that  the  two  Gov 
ernments  must  be  enemies,  or  at  best  cold  and  calcu 
lating  friends.  So  devoted  are  the  two  nations  through 
out  all  their  domain,  and  even  in  their  most  remote 
territory  and  colonial  possessions,  to  the  principles  of 
civil  rights  and  constitutional  liberty,  that,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  superficial  observer  might  erroneously 
count  upon  a  continued  concert  of  action  and  sympa 
thy,  amounting  to  an  alliance  between  them.  Each  is 
charged  with  the  development  of  the  progress  of  the 
human  race,  and  each  in  its  sphere  is  subject  to  diffi 
culties  and  trials  riot  participated  in  by  the  other.  The 
interests  of  civilization  and  of  humanity  require  that 
the  two  should  be  friends.  I  have  always  known  and 
accounted  as  a  fact,  honorable  to  both  countries,  that 
the  Queen  of  England  is  a  sincere  and  honest  well- 
wisher  to  the  United  States.  I  have  been  equally 
frank  and  explicit  in  the  opinion  that  the  friendship  of 
the  United  States  towards  Great  Britain  is  enjoined  by 
all  considerations  of  interest  and  of  sentiment  aifecting 
the  character  of  both.  You  will,  therefore,  be  accepted 
as  a  minister  friendly  and  well-disposed  to  the  mainte 
nance  of  peace  and  the  honor  of  both  countries.  You 
will  find  myself  and  all  my  associates  acting  in  ac 
cordance  with  the  same  enlightened  policy  and  con 
sistent  sentiments,  and  so  I  am  sure  that  it  will  not 
occur  in  your  case  that  either  yourself  or  this  Gov 
ernment  will  ever  have  cause  to  regret  that  such  an 
important  relationship  existed  at  such  a  crisis. 


206  ANDKEW   JOHNSON. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

RECEPTION  OF  THE  DIPLOMATIC   CORPS. 

SOON  after  the  reception  of  the  British  Minister, 
the  members  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps  were  pre 
sented  to  President  Johnson,  when  Baron  Yon 
Gerolt  addressed  the  President  as  follows  : — 

"  MR.  PRESIDENT  : — The  representatives  of  foreign 
nations  have  assembled  here  to  express  to  your  Excel 
lency  their  feelings  at  the  deplorable  event  of  which 
they  have  been  witnesses  ;  to  say  how  sincerely  they 
share  the  national  mourning  for  the  cruel  fate  of  the 
late  President,  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  how  deeply  they 
sympathize  with  the  Government  and  people  of  the 
United  States  in  their  great  ^affliction.  With  equal 
sincerity  wre  tender  to  you,  Mr.  President,  our  best 
wishes  for  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  United 
States,  and  for  your  personal  health  and  happiness. 
May  we  be  allowed,  also,  Mr.  President,  to  give  utter 
ance  on  this  occasion  to  our  sincerest  hopes  for  an 
early  re-cstablishmcnt  of  peace  in  this  great  country, 
and  for  the  maintenance  of  the  friendly  relations  be 
tween  the  Government  of  the  United  States  and  the 
Governments  which  we  represent  ?" 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  207 

REPLY    OF    THE    PRESIDENT. 

To  which  the  President  replied  : — 

"  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  DIPLOMATIC  BODY  : — I  heartily 
thank  you,  on  behalf  of  the  Government  and  people  of 
the  United  States,  for  the  sympathy  which  you  have 
so  feelingly  expressed  upon  the  mournful  event  to 
which  you  refer.  The  good  wishes  also  which  you 
kindly  offer  for  the  t welfare  and  prosperity  of  the 
United  States,  and  for  my  personal  health  and  happi 
ness,  are  gratefully  received.  Your  hopes  for  the 
early  restoration  of  peace  in  this  country  are  cordially 
reciprocated  by  me,  and  you  may  be  assured  that  I 
shall  leave  nothing  undone  towards  preserving  those 
relations  of  friendship  which  now  fortunately  exist  be 
tween  the  United  States  and  all  foreign  powers." 


203  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 


CHAPTEE  XII. 

ADDRESS   TO   LOYAL   SOUTHERNERS. 

DURING  the  same  month  a  deputation  of  loyal 
men  from  various  Southern  States  waited  on  the 
President.  In  reply  to  a  brief  address,  he  said : — 

"  It  is  hardly  necessary  for  me  on  this  occasion  to 
say  that  my  sympathies  and  impulses,  in  connectien 
with  this  nefarious  Rebellion,  beat  in  unison  with 
yours.  Those  who  have  passed  through  this  bitter 
ordeal,  and  who  participated  in  it  to  a  great  extent, 
are  more  competent,  as  I  think,  to  judge  and  deter 
mine  the  true  policy  which  should  be  pursued.  [Ap 
plause.]  I  have  but  little  to  say  on  this  question  in 
response  to  what  lias  been  said.  It  enunciates  and 
expresses  my  own  feelings  to  the  fullest  extent,  and 
in  much  better  language  than  I  can  at  the  present 
moment  summon  to  my  aid.  The  most  that  I  can  say 
is,  that,  entering  upon  the  duties  that  have  devolved 
upon  me  under  circumstances  that  are  perilous  and 
responsible,  and  being  thrown  into  the  position  I  now 
occupy  unexpectedly,  in  consequence  of  the  sad  event, 
the  heinous  assassination  which  has  taken  place — in 
view  of  all  that  is  before  me  and  the  circumstances 
that  surround  me — I  cannot  but  feel  that  your  en- 


SERVICES   AN1>   SPEECHES.  209 

couragement  and  kindness  are  peculiarly  acceptable 
and  appropriate.  I  do  not  think  you,  who  have  been 
familiar  with  my  course, — you  who  are  from  the 
South, — deem  it  necessary  for  me  to  make  any  pro 
fessions  as  to  the  future  on  this  occasion,  nor  to  ex 
press  what  my  course  will  be  upon  questions  that 
may  arise.  If  my  past  life  is  no  indication  of  what 
my  future  will  be,  my  professions  were  both  worth 
less  and  empty ;  and  in  returning-  you  my  sincere 
thanks  for  this  encouragement  and  sympathy,  I  can 
only  reiterate  what  I  have  said  before,  and,  in  part, 
what  has  just  been  read.  As  far  as  clemency  and 
mercy  are  concerned,  and  the  proper  exercise  of  the 
pardoning  power,  I  think  I  understand  the  nature 
and  character  of  the  latter.  In  the  exercise  of  clem 
ency  and  mercy,  that  pardoning  power  should  be  ex 
ercised  with  caution.  I  do  not  give  utterance  to  my 
opinions  on  this  point  in  any  spirit  of  revenge  or  un 
kind  feelings.  Mercy  and  clemency  have  been  pretty 
large  ingredients  in  my  composition,  having  been  the 
Executive  of  a  State,  and  thereby  placed  in  a  position 
in  which  it  was  necessary  to  exercise  clemency  and 
mercy.  I  have  been  charged  with  going  too  far,  be 
ing  too  lenient,  and  have  become  satisfied  that  mercy 
without  justice  is  a  crime,  and  that  when  mercy  and 
clemency  are  exercised  by  the  Executive,  it  should 
always  be  done  in  view  of  justice,  and  in  that  man 
ner  alone  is  properly  exercised  that  great  preroga 
tive.  The  time  has  come,  as  you  who  have  had  to 
drink  this  bitter  cup  are  fully  aware,  when  the  Ameri 
can  people  should  be  made  to  understand  the  true 
nature  of  crime.  Of  crime  generally  our  people  have 
a  high  understanding,  as  well  as  of  the  necessity  for 


210  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

its  punishment ;  but  in  the  catalogue  of  crimes  there 
is  one,  and  that  the  highest  known  to  the  laws  and 
the  Constitution,  of  which,  since  the  days  of  Jefferson 
and  Aaron  Burr,  they  have  become  oblivious.  That 
is — treason.  Indeed,  one  who  has  become  distin 
guished  in  treason  and  in  this  Rebellion  said,  that 
'  when  traitors  become  numerous  enough,  treason  be 
comes  respectable  ;  and  to  become  a  traitor,  was  to 
constitute  a  portion  of  the  aristocracy  of  the  country.' 
God  protect  the  people  against  such  an  aristocracy. 
Yes,  the  time  has  come  when  the  people  should  be 
taught  to  understand  the  length  and  breadth,  the 
depth  and  height  of  treason.  An  individual  occupy 
ing  the  highest  position  among  us  was  lifted  to  that 
position  by  the  free  offering  of  the  American  people, — 
the  highest  position  on  the  habitable  globe.  This 
man  we  have  seen,  revered,  and  loved, — one  who,  if 
he  erred  at  all,  erred  ever  on  the  side  of  clemency 
and  mercy, — that  man  we  have  seen  Treason  strike, 
through  a  fitting  instrument,  and  we  have  beheld  him 
fall  like  the  bright  star  falling  from  its  sphere.  Now, 
there  is  none  but  would  say,  if  the  question  came  up, 
what  should  be  done  with  the  individual  who  assassi 
nated  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  nation, — He  is  but 
a  man — one  man,  after  all.  But  if  asked  what  should 
be  done  with  the  assassin,  what  should  be  the  pen 
alty,  the  forfeit  exacted  ?  I  know  what  response 
dwells  in  every  bosom.  It  is,  that  he  should  pay  the 
forfeit  with  his  life.  And  hence  we  see  there  are 
times  when  mercy  and  clemency,  without? justice,  be 
come  a  crime.  The  one  should  temper  the  other,  and 
bring1  about  that  proper  means.  And  if  we  should 
say  this  when  the  case  was  the  simple  murder  of  one 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  211 

man  by  his  fellow-man,  what  should  we  say  when 
asked  what  should  be  done  with  him,  or  them,  or  those, 
who  have  raised  impious  hands  to  take  away  the  life 
of  a  nation  composed  of  thirty  millions  of  people  ? 
What  would  be  the  reply  to  that  question  ?  But  while 
in  mercy  we  remember  justice,  in  the  language  that 
has  been  uttered,  I  say,  justice  towards  the  leaders, 
the  conscious  leaders  ;  but  I  also  say  amnesty,  con 
ciliation,  clemency,  arid  mercy  to  the  thousands  of  our 
countrymen  whom  you  and  I  know  have  been  de 
ceived  or  driven  into  this  infernal  Rebellion.  And  so 
I  return  to  where  I  started  from,  and  again  repeat 
that  it  is  time  our  people  were  taught  to  know  that 
treason  is  a  crime,  riot  a  mere  political  difference,  not 
a  mere  contest  between  two  parties,  in  which  one 
succeeded  and  the  other  has  simply  failed.  They 
must  know  it  is  treason  ;  for  if  they  had  succeeded, 
the  life  of  the  nation  would  have  been  reft  from  it, — 
the  Union  would  have  been  destroyed.  Surely  the 
Constitution  sufficiently  defines  treason.  It  consists 
in  levying  war  against  the  United  States,  and  in  giv 
ing  their  enemies  aid  and  comfort.  With  this  defini 
tion  it  requires  the  exercise  of  no  great  acumen 
to  ascertain  who  are  traitors.  It  requires  no 
great  perception  to  tell  who  have  levied  war  against 
the  United  States  ;  nor  does  it  require  any  great 
stretch  of  reasoning  to  ascertain  who  has  given  aid 
to  the  enemies  of  the  United  States  ;  and  when  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  does  ascertain  who 
are  the  conscious  and  intelligent  traitors,  the  penalty 
and  the  forfeit  should  be  paid.  [Applause.]  I  know 
how  to  appreciate  the  condition  of  being  driven  from 
one's  home.  I  can  sympathize  with  him  whose  all  has 


212  ANJJKEW    JOHNSON. 

been  taken  from  him, — with  him  who  has  been  denied 
the  place  that  gave  his  children  birth.  But  let  us, 
withal,  in  the  restoration  of  true  government,  proceed 
temperately  and  dispassionately,  and  hope  and  pray 
that  the  time  will  come,  as  I  believe,  when  all  can  re 
turn  and  remain  at  our  homes,  and  treason  and  traitors 
be  driven  from  our  land  [applause],  when  again  law 
and  order  shall  reign,  and  the  banner  of  our  country 
be  unfurled  over  every  inch  of  territory  within  the 
area  of  the  United  States.  [Applause.]  In  conclu 
sion,  let  me  thank  you  most  profoundly  for  this  en 
couragement  and  manifestation  of  your  regard  and 
respect,  and  assure  you  that  I  can  give  no  greater 
assurance  regarding  the  settlement  of  this  question, 
than  that  I  intend  to  discharge  rny  duty,  and  in  that 
way  which  shall,  in  the  earliest  possible  hour,  bring 
back  peace  to  our  distracted  country.  And  I  hope 
the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  our  people  can  all 
return  to  their  homes  and  firesides,  and  resume  their 
various  avocations." 


SERVICES   AND    SPEECHES.  213 


CHAPTEE    XIII. 

SPEECH   TO  THE   INDIANA  DELEGATION. 

AT  the  close  of  the  month  of  April,  1865,  the 
President  spoke  as  follows,  in  response  to  an 
address  from  a  delegation  from  the  State  of 
Indiana : — 

"  As  my  honorable  friend  (Governor  Morton)  knows, 
I  long  since  took  the  ground  that  this  Government 
was  sent  upon  a  great  mission  among  the  nations  of 
the  earth  ;  that  it  had  a  great  work  to  perform,  and 
that  in  starting  it,  it  was  started  in  perpetuity.  Look 
back  for  one  single  moment  to  the  Articles  of  Confed 
eration,  and  then  come  down  to  1781,  when  the  Con 
stitution  was  formed — what  do  you  find  ?  That  we, 
'  the  People  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a 
more  perfect  government/  etc.  Provision  is  made 
for  the  admission  of  new  States,  to  be  added  to  the 
old  ones  embraced  within  the  Union.  Now,  turn  to 
the  Constitution ;  we  find  that  amendments  may  be 
made  by  a  recommendation  of  two-thirds  of  the  mem 
bers  of  Congress,  if  ratified  by  three-fourths  of  the 
States.  Provision  is  made  for  the  admission  of  new 
States  ;  no  provision  is  made  for  the  secession  of  old 
ones.  The  instrument  was  made  to  be  good  in  perpe 
tuity,  and  yon  can  take  hold  of  it,  not  to  break  up  the 


ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

Government,  but  to  go  on  perfecting-  it  more  and  more 
as  it  runs  down  the  stream  of  time.  We  find  the 
Government  composed  of  integral  parts.  An  indi 
vidual  is  an  integer,  and  a  State  itself  is  an  integer, 
and  the  various  States  form  the  Union,  which  is  itself 
an  integer,  they  all  making  up  the  Government  of  the 
United  States.  Now  we  come  to  the  point  of  my  ar 
gument,  so  far  as  concerns  the  perpetuity  of  the 
Government.  We  have  seen  that  the  Government  is 
composed  of  parts,  each  essential  to  the  whole,  and 
the  whole  essential  to  each  part.  Now,  if  an  indi 
vidual  (part  of  a  State)  declare  war  against  the 
whole,  in  violation  of  the  Constitution,  he,  as  a  citi 
zen,  has  violated  the  law,  and  is  responsible  for  the 
act  as  an  individual.  There  may  be  more  than  one 
individual  ;  it  may  go  on  until  they  become  parts  of 
States.  Sometimes  the  rebellion  may  go  on  increas 
ing  in  number  till  the  State  machinery  is  overturned, 
and  the  country  becomes  like  a  man  that  is  paralyzed 
on  one  side.  But  we  find  in  the  Constitution  a  great 
panacea  provided.  It  provides  that  the  United 
States  (that  is,  the  great  integer)  shall  guarantee  to 
each  State  (the  integers  composing  the  whole)  in  this 
Union  a  republican  form  of  government.  Yes,  if  re 
bellion  lias  been  rampant,  and  set  aside  the  machinery 
of  a  State  for  a  time,  there  stands  the  great  law  to 
remove  the  paralysis,  and  revitalize  it  and  put  it  on 
its  feet  again.  When  we  come  to  understand  our 
system  of  government,  though  it  be  complex,  we  see 
how  beautifully  one  part  moves  in  harmony  with  an 
other  ;  then  we  see  our  Government  is  to  be  a  perpe 
tuity,  there  being  no  provision  for  pulling  it  down, 
the  Union  being  its  vitalizing  power,  imparting  life 


SERVICES  AND   SPEECHES.  215 

to  the  whole  of  the  States  that  move  around  it  like 
planets  around  the  sun,  receiving  thence  light,  and 
heat,  and  motion.  Upon  this  idea  of  destroying 
States,  my  position  has  been  heretofore  well  known, 
and  I  see  no  cause  to  change  it  now,  and  I  am  glad 
to  hear  its  reiteration  on  the  present  occasion.  Some 
are  satisfied  with  the  idea  that  States  are  to  be  lost 
in  territorial  and  other  divisions  ;  are  to  lose  their 
character  as  States.  But  their  life-breatn"  has  only 
been  suspended,  and  it  is  a  high  constitutional  obli 
gation  we  have  to  secure  each  of  these  States  in  the 
possession  and  enjoyment  of  a  republican  form  of 
government.  A  State  may  be  in  the  Government 
with  a  peculiar  institution,  and  by  the  operation  of 
rebellion  lose  that  feature  ;  but  it  was  a  State  when 
it  went  into  rebellion,  and  when  it  comes  out  without 
the  institution,  it  is  still  a  State.  I  hold  it  a  solemn 
obligation  in  any  one  of  these  States  where  the  rebel 
armies  have  been  beaten  back  or  expelled,  I  care  not 
how  small  the  ship  of  state,  I  hold  it,  I  say,  a  high 
duty  to  protect  and  to  secure  to  them  a  republican 
form  of  government.  This  is  no  new  opinion.  It  is 
expressed  in  conformity  with  my  understanding  of 
the  genius  and  theory  of  our  Government.  Then,  in 
adjusting  and  putting  the  Government  upon  its  legs 
again,  I  think  the  progress  of  this  work  must  pass 
into  the  hands  of  its  friends.  If  a  State  is  to  be 
nursed  until  it  again  gets  strength,  it  must  be  nursed 
by  its  friends,  not  smothered  by  its  enemies.  Now, 
permit  me  to  remark,  that  while  I  have  opposed  dis 
solution  and  disintegration  on  the  one  hand,  on  the 
other  I  am  equally  opposed  to  consolidation,  or  the 
centralization  of  power  in  the  hands  of  a  few. 


216  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

A  DELEGATION  OF  SOUTHERN    MEN  VISIT  THE 
PRESIDENT. 

ONE  of  the  most  interesting  episodes  which  has 
occurred  since  Mr.  Johnson  became  President, 
probably  took  place  in  a  spontaneous  visit  made 
by  a  number  of  prominent  and  distinguished 
Southern  gentlemen,  who  happened  to  be  in 
Washington  on  business.  The  significance  of 
this  visit  arose  from  the  fact  that  there  was  noth 
ing  of  a  political  character  to  it,  but  was  prompted 
solely  by  that  respect  which  Mr.  Johnson's  hon 
orable  and  humane  course  had  inspired  in  the 
hearts  of  the  Southern  people.  Where  they  had 
been  apprehensive  of  revenge,  they  found  kind 
ness.  Where  they  had  looked  for  severity,  they 
found  gentleness.  Animated  by  such  feelings, 
those  gentlemen  determined  to  pay  Mr.  Johnson 
such  a  call  as  would  be  a  surprise. 

He  was  informed  the  day  previous  that  some 
Southern  gentlemen  desired  to  pay  their  respects 
to  him,  and  the  hour  at  which  it  would  be  agree 
able  for  him  to  receive  them  was  fixed.  The  next 
day,  September  11,  accordingly,  the  gentlemen 
repaired  to  the  White  House,  and  meeting  in  the 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  217 

East  Room,  organized  themselves  into  a  formal 
delegation.  Mr.  Phillips,  of  Alabama,  was  called 
to  the  chair.  Judge  Lockrane,  of  Georgia,  stated 
that  their  object  was  to  pay  a  visit  of  courtesy  to 
the  President,  and  express  to  him  their  unquali 
fied  confidence  in  the  justice  and  magnanimity  of 
the  Government  in  the  matter  of  reconstruction, 
On  motion,  Messrs.  Bliss,  of  Alabama ;  McFar- 
land,  of  Virginia ;  White,  of  Texas ;  Cannon,  of 
South  Carolina ;  Bass,  of  Arkansas ;  Wilkins,  of 
Mississippi ;  Lockrane,  of  Georgia,  and  Baker,  of 
Florida,  were  designated  to  individually  present 
to  the  President  such  persons  as  were  present 
from  their  respective  States.  The  delegation  was 
admitted  soon  after  eleven  o'clock,  and  presented 
to  the  President  as  follows,  by  Mr.  McFarland,  of 
Virginia : 

"  MR.  PRESIDENT — The  gentlemen  accompanying  me, 
and  whom  I  have  the  honor  of  introducing  to  you, 
constitute  a  number  of  the  most  respectable  citizens 
of  nine  of  the  Southern  States.  They  come,  sir,  for 
the  purpose  of  manifesting  the  sincere  respect  and 
regard  they  entertain  for  you,  and  to  express  their 
sincere  determination  to  co-operate  with  you  in  what 
ever  shall  tend  to  promote  the  interests  and  welfare 
of  our  common  country,  and  to  say  that  they  are  as 
earnest  now,  and  faithful  to  their  allegiance  to  the 
United  States  and  to  the  Constitution  of  the  Union  as 
in  the  past,  and  that  they  have  great  confidence  in 
your  wisdom  to  heal  the  wounds  that  have  been 
made,  and  in  your  disposition  to  exercise  all  the  le- 
10 


218  ANDKEW    JOIINSOX. 

niency  which  can  bo  commended  by  a  sound  and  ju 
dicious  policy.  That  they  are  assured,  in  doing-  this, 
of  your  desire  and  intention  to  sustain  and  maintain 
Southern  rights  in  the  union  of  the  United  States." 

The  President  was  surprised  at  the  imposing 
appearance  of  the  delegation,  and  was  evidently 
much  affected  in  reply.  Every  gesture  and  ut 
terance  was  full  of  subdued  eloquence.  The  re 
ply  was  as  follows : 

"  GENTLEMEN — I  can  only  say,  in  reply  to  the  remarks 
of  your  chairman,  that  I  am  highly  gratified  to  receive 
the  assurances  he  has  given  me.  They  are  more  than 
I  could  have  expected  under  the  circumstances.  I 
must  say  I  was  unprepared  to  receive  so  numerous  a 
delegation  on  this  occasion  ;  it  was  unexpected  ;  I 
had  no  idea  it  was  to  be  so  large,  or  represent  so 
many  States.  When  I  expressed  as  I  did  my  willing 
ness  to  see  at  any  time  so  many  of  you  as  chose  to 
do  rne  the  honor  to  call  upon  me,  and  stated  that  I 
should  be  gratified  at  receiving  any  manifestations  of 
regard  you  might  think  proper  to  make,  I  was  totally 
unprepared  for  any  thing  equal  to  the  present  demon 
stration.  I  am  free  to  say  it  excites  in  my  mind 
feelings  and  emotions  that  language  is  totally  inade 
quate  to  express.  When  I  look  back  upon  my  past 
actions,  and  recall  a  period  scarcely  more  than  four 
short  years  ago,  when  I  stood  battling  for  principles 
which  many  of  you  opposed  and  thought  were  wrong, 
I  was  battling  for  the  same  principles  that  actuate 
me  to-day,  and  which  principles,  I  thank  my  God,  you 
have  come  forward  on  this  occasion  to  manifest  a  dis- 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  219 

position  to  support.  I  say  now,  as  I  have  said  on 
many  former  occasions,  that  I  entertain  no  personal 
resentments,  enmities,  or  animosities  to  any  living 
soul  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  however  much 
he  may  have  differed  from  me  in  principle.  The 
stand  I  then  took  I  claim  to  have  been  the  only  true 
one.  I  remember  how  I  stood  pleading  with  my 
Southern  brethren,  when  they  stood  with  their  hats 
in  their  hands  ready  to  turn  their  backs  upon  the 
United  States  ;  how  I  implored  them  to  stand  with 
me  there,  and  maintain  our  rights  and  fight  our  bat 
tles  under  the  laws  and  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  I  think  now,  as  I  thought  then,  and  endeav 
ored  to  induce  them  to  believe,  that  our  true  position 
was  under  the  law  and  under  the  Constitution  of  the 
Union,  with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  it  ;  but  if 
that  principle  made  an  issue  that  rendered  a  disinte 
gration  possible — if  that  made  an  issue  which  should 
prevent  us  from  transmitting  to  our  children  a  coun 
try  as  bequeathed  to  us  by  our  fathers — I  had  noth 
ing  else  to  do  but  to  stand  by  the  Government,  be 
the  consequences  what  they  might.  I  said  then,  what 
you  all  know,  that  I  was  for  the  institutions  of  the 
country  as  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution,  but  above 
all  things  I  was  for  the  Union  of  the  States.  I  re 
member  the  taunts,  the  jeers,  the  scowls  with  which 
I  was  treated.  I  remember  the  circle  that  stood 
around  me,  and  remember  the  threats  and  intimida 
tions  that  were  freely  uttered  by  the  men  who  op 
posed  me,  and  whom  I  wanted  to  befriend  and  guide 
by  the  light  that  led  me  ;  but  feeling  conscious  in 
my  own  integrity,  and  that  I  was  right,  I  heeded  not 
what  they  might  say  or  do  to  me,  arid  was  inspired 


220  ANDREW    JOIIXSOX. 

and  encouraged  to  do  rny  duty  regardless  of  aught 
else,  and  have  lived  to  see  the  realization  of  my  pre 
dictions,  and  the  fatal  error  of  those  whom  I  vainly 
essayed  to  save  from  the  results  I  could  not  but  fore 
see.  Gentlemen,  we  have  passed  through  this  rebel 
lion.  I  say  we,  for  it  was  we  who  are  responsible 
for  it.  Yes,  the  South  made  the  issue,  and  I  know 
the  nature  of  the  Southern  people  well  enough  to 
know  that  when  they  have  become  convinced  of  an 
error,  they  frankly  acknowledge  it  in  a  manly,  open, 
direct  manner  ;  and  now,  in  the  performance  of  that 
duty,  or,  indeed,  in  any  act  the}'  undertake  to  per 
form,  they  do  it  heartily  and  frankly  ;  and  now  that 
they  come  to  me,  I  understand  them  as  saying  that, 
'  We  made  the  issue.  We  set  up  the  Union  of  the 
States  against  the  institution  of  slavery.  We  selected 
as  arbitrator  the  God  of  battles ;  the  arbitrament 
was  the  sword.  The  issue  was  fairly  and  honorably 
met.  Both  the  questions  presented  have  been  settled 
against  us,  and  we  are  prepared  to  accept  the  is 
sue.'  I  find  on  all  sides  this  spirit  of  candor  and 
honor  prevailing.  It  is  said  by  all  :  'The  issue  was 
ours,  and  the  judgment  has  been  given  against  us  ; 
and  the  decision  having  been  made  against  us,  we  feel 
bound  in  honor  to  abide  by  the  arbitrament.  In  doing 
this  we  are  doing  ourselves  no  dishonor,  and  should 
not  feel  humiliated  or  degraded,  but  rather  that  we 
are  ennobling  ourselves  by  our  action  ;  and  we 
should  feel  that  the  Government  has  treated  us  mag 
nanimously,  and  meet  the  Government  upon  the  terms 
it  has  so  magnanimously  proffered  us.' 

"  So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  personally,  I  am  unin 
fluenced  by  any  question,  whether  it  affects  the  North 


SERVICES    AND   SPEECHES.  221 

or  the  South,  the  East  or  the  West.     I  stand  where  I 
did  of  old,  battling  for  the  Constitution  and  the  union 
of  these  United  States.     In  doing  so  I  know  I  opposed 
some  of  you  gentlemen  of  the  South  when  this  doctrine 
of  secession  was  being  urged  upon  the  country,  and 
the  declaration  of  your  right  to  break  up  the  Govern 
ment  and  disintegrate  the  Union  was  made.     I  stand 
to-day,  as  I  have  ever  stood,  firmly  in  the  opinion  that 
if  a  monopoly  contends  against  this  country,  the  mo 
nopoly  must  go  down,  and  the  country  must  go  up. 
Yes,  the  issue  was  made  by  the  South  against  the 
Government,  and  the  Government  has  triumphed;  and 
the  South,  true  to  her  instincts  of  frankness  and  manly 
honor,  comes  forth  and  expresses  her  willingness  to 
abide  the  result  of  the  decision  iii  good  faith.     While 
I  think  that  the  rebellion  has  been  arrested  and  sub 
dued,  and  am  happy  in  the  consciousness  of  a  duty 
well  performed,  I  want  not  only  you,  but  the  people 
of  the  world  to  know,  that  while  I  dreaded  and  feared 
disintegration  of  the  States,  I  am  equally  opposed  to 
consolidation  or  concentration  of  power  here,  under 
whatever  guise  or  name;  and  if  the  issue  is  forced 
upon   us,  I  shall  still  endeavor   to  pursue  the  same 
efforts  to  dissuade  from  this  doctrine  of  running  to 
extremes  :  but  I  say,  let  the  same  rules  be  applied. 
Let  the  Constitution  be  our  guide.     Let  the  preserva 
tion  of  that  and  the  union  of  the  States  be  our  princi 
pal  aim.     Let  it  be  our  hope  that  the  Government  may 
be  perpetual,  and  that  the  principles  of  the  Govern 
ment,  founded  as  they  are  on  right  and  justice,  may 
be  handed  down  without  spot  or  blemish  to  our  pos 
terity.     As  I  have  before  remarked  to  you,  I  am  grati 
fied  to  see  so  many  of  you  here  to-day.     It  manifests 


222  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

a  spirit  I  am  p. cased  to  observe.  I  know  it  lias  been 
said  of  me  that  my  asperities  are  sharp,  that  I  had 
vindictive  feelings  to  gratify,  and  that  I  should  not 
fail  to  avail  myself  of  the  opportunities  that  would 
present  themselves  to  gratify  such  despicable  feelings. 
Gentlemen,  if  my  acts  will  not  speak  for  me  and  for 
themselves,  then  any  professions  1  might  now  make 
would  be  equally  useless.  But,  gentlemen,  if  I  know 
myself,  as  I  think  I  do,  I  know  that  I  am  of  the  South 
ern  people,  and  I  love  them  and  will  do  all  in  my 
power  to  restore  them  to  that  state  of  happiness  and 
prosperity  which  they  enjoyed  before  the  madness  of 
misguided  men,  in  whom  they  had  reposed  their  con 
fidence,  led  them  astray  to  their  own  undoing.  If 
there  is  any  thing  that  can  be  done  on  my  part,  on 
correct  principles,  on  the  principles  of  the  Constitu 
tion,  to  promote  these  ends,  be  assured  it  shall  be  done. 
Let  me  assure  you,  also,  that  there  is  no  disposition 
on  the  part  of  the  Government  to  deal  harshly  with 
the  Southern  people.  There  may  be  speeches  pub 
lished  from  various  quarters  that  may  breathe  a  differ 
ent  spirit.  Do  not  let  them  trouble  or  excite  you,  but 
believe  that  it  is,  as  it  is,  the  great  object  of  the  Gov 
ernment  to  make  the  union  of  these  United  States 
more  complete  and  perfect  than  ever,  and  to  maintain 
it  on  constitutional  principles,  if  possible,  more  firmly 
than  it  has  ever  before  been.  Then,  why  cannot  wo 
all  come  up  to  the  work  in  a  proper  spirit  ?  In  other 
words,  let  us  look  to  the  Constitution.  The  issue  has 
been  made  and  decided;  then,  as  wise  men — as  men 
who  see  right  and  are  determined  to  follow  it  as  fathers 
and  brothers,  and  as  men  who  love  their  country  in 
this  hour  of  trial  and  suffering — why  cannot  we  como 


SEKV1CES  AND   SPEECHES.  223 

up  and  help  to  settle  the  questions  of  the  hour  and  ad 
just  them  according  to  the  principles  of  honor  and 
of  justice  ?  The  institution  of  slavery  is  gone.  The 
former  status  of  the  negro  had  to  be  changed,  and  we, 
as  wise  men,  must  recognize  so  patent  a  fact  and 
adapt  ourselves  to  circumstances  as  they  surround  us. 
[Voices,  '  We  are  willing  to  do  so.  Yes,  sir,  we  are 
willing  to  do  so.']  I  believe  you  are.  I  believe  when 
your  faith  is  pledged,  when  your  consent  has  been 
given,  as  I  have  already  said,  I  believe  it  will  be  main 
tained  in  good  faith,  and  every  pledge  or  promise  fully 
carried  out  [Cries, '  It  will.']  All  I  ask  or  desire  of 
fche  South  or  the  North,  the  East  or  the  West,  is  to  be 
sustained  in  carrying  out  the  principles  of  the  Consti 
tution.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  we  have  been  great 
sufferers  on  both  sides.  Good  men  have  fallen  on  both 
sides,  and  much  misery  is  being  endured  as  the  neces 
sary  result  of  so  gigantic  a  contest.  Why,  then,  can 
not  we  come  together,  and  around  the  common  altar 
of  our  country  heal  the  wounds  that  have  been  made  ? 
Deep  wounds  have  been  inflicted.  Our  country  has 
been  scarred  all  over.  Then,  why  cannot  we  approach 
each  other  upon  principles  which  are  right  in  them 
selves,  and  which  will  be  productive  of  good  to  all  ? 
The  day  is  not  distant  when  we  shall  feel  like  some 
family  that  have  had  a  deep  and  desperate  feud,  the 
various  members  of  which  have  come  together  and 
compared  the  evils  and  sufferings  they  had  inflicted 
upon  each  other.  They  had  seen  the  influence  of  their 
error  and  its  result,  and,  governed  by  a  generous  spirit 
of  conciliation,  they  had  become  mutually  forbearing 
and  forgiving,  and  returned  to  their  old  habits  of  fra 
ternal  kindness,  and  become  better  friends  than  ever. 


ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

Then  let  us  consider  that  the  feud  which  alienated  us 
has  been  settled  and  adjusted  to  our  mutual  satisfac 
tion,  and  that  we  come  together  to  be  bound  by  firmer 
bonds  of  love,  respect,  and  confidence  than  ever.  The 
North  cannot  get  along  without  the  South,  nor  the 
South  from  the  North,  the  East  from  the  West,  nor  the 
West  from  the  East;  and  I  say  it  is  our  duty  to  do  all 
that  in  our  power  lies  to  perpetuate  and  make  stronger 
the  bonds  of  our  Union,  seeing1  that  it  is  for  the  com 
mon  good  of  all  that  we  should  be  united.  I  feel  that 
this  Union,  though  but  the  creation  of  a  century,  is  to 
be  perpetuated  for  all  time,  and -that  it  cannot  be  de 
stroyed  except  by  the  all-wise  God  who  created  it., 
Gentlemen,  I  repeat,  I  sincerely  thank  you  for  the  re 
spect  manifested  on  this  occasion,  and  for  the  expres 
sions  of  approbation  and  confidence  please  accept  my 
sincere  thanks." 

Mr.  McFarland  replied  as  follows : 

"  MR.  PRESIDENT  :  On  behalf  of  this  delegation  I 
return  you  my  sincere  thanks  for  your  kind,  gen 
erous — aye,  magnanimous — expressions  of  kindly  feel 
ing  towards  the  people  of  the  South." 

The  remarks  of  the  President,  so  full  of  kindly 
feeling  and  generous  confidence,  were  frequently 
interrupted  with  applause ;  and  it  is  doubtful 
whether,  among  all  the  interviews  which  Mr. 
Johnson  has  had  with  Southern  men  since  the 
termination  of  the  Avar,  there  has  been  one  whom 
the  bright  and  nobler  traits  of  his  character  have 


SERVICES    AND   SPEECHES.  225 

shown  out  more  conspicuously,  or  one  which 
made  so  deep  and  so  lasting  an  impression  on 
the  Southern  mind.  In  this  they  read  the  lan 
guage  of  the  heart — always,  after  all,  more  to  be 
relied  upon  and  trusted  than  the  cold,  intellectual 
responses  of  the  head,  be  they  never  so  unexcep 
tionable  or  satisfactory. 
10* 


226  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 


CHAPTEK    XV. 


THERE  is  no  trait  of  human  character  more 
thoroughly  worthy  of  respect  than  consistency. 
So  common  is  the  yielding  both  in  private  and 
public  life  to  feelings  of  expediency,  of  interest, 
of  personal  and  political  prejudices  and  antip 
athies,  that  to  see  a  man  acting  under  all  cir 
cumstances  with  a  firm  and  steady  adherence  to 
principle  is  sure  to  excite  admiration.  The  pres 
ent  age  can  afford  no  grander  example  of  this 
noble  virtue  than  the  conduct  of  President  John 
son  in  his  policy  of  again  restoring  to  its  full  life 
and  healthful  action  the  broken  and  disordered 
members  of  the  o^ce  glorious  Federal  Union. 
He  early  took  the  ground  that  the  secession  of  a 
State  was  an  entire  impossibility,  that  an  ordinance 
declaring  it  was  in  its  every  conception  null  and 
void,  and  that  upon  the  close  of  armed  opposition 
to  the  General  Government  the  States  engaged  in 
it  resumed,  as  a  matter  of  course,  their  original 
position.  The  Congress  in  session  at  the  com 
mencement  of  the  late  civil  war  took  the  same 
view  of  the  subject,  when,  after  the  first  terrible 


SEKYrlCES   AND   SPEECHES.  227 

defeat  of  Manassas,  it  unanimously  adopted  a 
resolution  to  the  effect  that  the  war  was  not 
waged  for  the  purpose  of  interfering  in  any  man 
ner  with  the  rights  of  the  States,  nor  with  their 
domestic  institutions,  but  solely  and  entirely  for 
the  preservation  and  restoration  of  the  Union 
itself.  The  present  Congress,  however,  refuses 
to  abide  by  the  act  of  its  predecessor,  and  though 
hostilities  have  long  since  ceased,  the  late  insur 
gent  States  are  denied  all  State  attributes,  and 
condemned  to  the  painful  and  ignominious  fate 
of  conquered  provinces.  This  stand  of  Congress, 
directly  in  opposition  to  the  well  -known  opinions 
of  the-  President,  has  brought  out  all  the  inde 
pendence  and  energy  of  his  character  in  a  man 
ner  calculated  to  electrify  the  people,  and  to 
cause  them  to  rely  with  the  utmost  confidence 
upon  his  capacity  to  restore  once  again  the 
unity,  the  prosperity,  and  the  happiness  of  the 
country. 

An  opportunity  was  afforded  him  in  his  famous 
veto  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  Bill,  and  his  speech 
in  response  to  the  congratulations  of  his  country 
men  upon  that  auspicious  event,  to  proclaim  to 
the  whole  world  the  strength  of  his  convictions, 
the  purity  of  his  patriotism,  and  the  indomitable 
power  and  courage  of  his  soul.  We  give  these 
remarkable  utterances  in  full;  for  no  sketch  of 
President  Johnson  can  be  complete  without  this 
crowning  evidence  of  the  wonderful  consistency 
of  his  political  career  : 


228  AXDKi-:\V    jnil  \.-O.V. 

"Constant  as  the  Nortlu-rn  Star  ; 
Of  whose  true,  fix'd,  and  resting  quality 
There  is  no  fellow  in  the  firmament." 

"  To  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  : 

"  I  have  examined  with  care  the  bill  which  origi 
nated  in  the  Senate,  and  has  been  passed  by  the  two 
Houses  of  Congress,  to  amend  an  act  entitled  '  An  act 
to  establish  a  bureau  for  the  relief  of  freedmen  and 
refugees,  and  for  other  purposes/  Having,  with  much 
regret,  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  not  be 
consistent  with  the  public  welfare  to  give  my  ap 
proval  to  the  measure,  I  return  the  bill  to  the  Senate 
with  my  objections  to  its  becoming-  a  law. 

"  I  might  call  to  mind,  in  advance  of  these-  objec 
tions,  that  there  is  no  immediate  necessity  for  the  pro 
posed  measure.  The  act  to  establish  a  bureau  for 
'he  relief  of  freedmen  and  refugees,  which  was  ap 
proved  in  the  month  of  March  last,  has  not  yet  expired. 
It  was  thought  stringent  and  extensive  enough  for 
ihc  purpose  in  view.  Before  it  ceases  to  have  effect, 
further  experience  may  assist  to  guide  us  to  a  wise 
conclusion  as  to  the  policy  to  be  adopted  in  time  of 
peace. 

"  I  have,  with  Congress,  the  strongest  desire  to  se 
cure  to  the  freedmen  the  full  enjoyment  of  their  free 
dom  and  their  property  and  their  entire  independence 
and  equality  in  making  contracts  for  their  labor.  But 
the  bill  before  me  contains  provisions  which,  in  my 
opinion,  arc  not  warranted  by  the  Constitution  and 
arc  not  well  suited  to  accomplish  the  end  in  view. 
The  bill  proposes  to  establish  by  authority  of  Con 
gress  military  jurisdiction  over  all  parts  of  the  Uuited 


SEKV1CES   AND   SPEECHES.  229 

States  containing  refugees  and  freedrnen.  It  would, 
by  its  very  nature,  apply  with  most  force  to  those 
parts  of  the  United  States  in  which  the  freedmen  most 
abound  ;  and  it  expressly  extends  the  existing  tem 
porary  jurisdiction  of  'the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  with 
greatly  enlarged  powers,  over  those  States  in  which 
the  ordinary  course  of  judicial  proceedings  has  been 
interrupted  by  the  rebellion.  The  source  from  which 
this  military  jurisdiction  is  to  emanate  is  none  other 
than  the  President  of  the  United  States,  acting  through 
the  War  Department  and  the  Commissioner  of  the 
Freedmen's  Bureau.  The  agents  to  carry  out  this 
military  jurisdiction  are  to  be  selected  either  from  the 
army  or  from  civil  life.  The  country  is  to  be  divided 
into  districts  and  sub-districts,  and  the  number  of  sal 
aried  agents  to  be  employed  may  be  equal  to  the  num 
ber  of  counties  or  parishes  in  all  the  United  States 
where  freedmen  and  refugees  are  to  be  found.  The 
subjects  over  which  this  military  jurisdiction  is  to  ex 
tend  in  every  part  of  the  United  States,  include  pro 
tection  to  all  employees,  agents,  and  officers  of  this 
bureau  in  the  exercise  of  the  duties  imposed  upon 
them  by  the  bill.  In  eleven  States  it  is  further  to  ex 
tend  over  all  cases  affecting  freedmen  and  refugees 
discriminated  against  by  local  law,  custom,  or  preju 
dice.  In  those  eleven  States  the  bill  subjects  any 
white  person  who  may  be  charged  with  depriving  a 
freedman  of  any  civil  rights  or  immunities  belonging 
to  white  persons  to  imprisonment  or  fine,  or  both, 
without,  however,  defining  the  civil  rights  and  immu 
nities  which  are  thus  to  be  secured  to  the  freedmen 
by  military  law.  This  military  jurisdiction  also  ex 
tends  to  all  questions  that  may  arise  respecting  con- 


230  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

tracts.  The  agent,  who  is  thus  to  exercise  the  office 
of  a  military  judge,  may  be  a  stranger,  entirely  igno 
rant  of  the  laws  of  the  place,  and  exposed  to  the  errors 
of  judgment  to  which  all  men  are  liable.  The  exercise 
of  power  over  which  there  is  no  legal  supervision,  by 
so  vast  a  number  of  agents  as  is  contemplated  by  the 
bill,  must,  by  the  very  nature  of  man,  be  attended  by 
acts  of  caprice,  injustice,  and  passion.  The  trials 
having  their  origin  under  this  bill  are  to  take  place 
without  the  intervention  of  a  jury  and  without  any 
fixed  rules  of  law  or  evidence.  The  rules  on  which 
offences  are  to  be  heard  and  determined  by  the  numer 
ous  agents,  are  such  rules  and  regulations  as  the 
President,  through  the  War  Department,  shall  pre 
scribe.  No  previous  presentment  is  required,  nor  any 
indictment  charging  the  commission  of  a  crime  against 
the  laws  ;  but  the  trial  must  proceed  on  charges  and 
specifications.  The  punishment  will  be  not  what  the 
law  declares,  but  such  as  a  court-martial  may  think 
proper  •  and  from  these  arbitrary  tribunals  there  lies 
no  appeal,  no  writ  of  error  to  any  of  the  courts  in 
which  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  vests  ex 
clusively  the  judicial  power  of  the  country  ;  while  the 
territory  and  the  class  of  actions  and  offences  that  are 
made  subject  to  this  measure  are  so  extensive,  that  the 
bill  itself,  should  it  become  a  law,  will  have  no  limita 
tion  in  point  of  time,  but  will  form  a  part  of  the  per 
manent  legislation  of  the  country.*  I  cannot  reconcile 
a  system  of  military  jurisdiction  of  this  kind  with  the 
words  of  the  Constitution,  which  declare  that  'no  per 
son  Khali  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital  or  otherwise 
infamous  crime  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment 
of  a  grand  jury,  except  in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or 


SERVICE    AXD   SPEECHES.  231 

naval  forces  or  in  the  militia  when  in  actual  service 
in  time  of  war  or  public  danger ;'  and  that  '  in  all 
criminal  prosecutions  the  accused  shall  enjoy  the  right 
to  a  speedy  and  public  trial  by  an  impartial  jury  of 
the  State  or  district  wherein  the  crime  shall  have  been 
committed.' 

"  The  safeguards  which  the  wisdom  and  experience 
of  ages  taught  our  fathers  to  establish  as  securities 
for  the  protection  of  the  innocent,  the  punishment  of 
the  guilty,  and  the  equal  administration  of  justice,  are 
to  be  set  aside,  and  for  the  sake  of  a  more  vigorous 
interposition  in  behalf  of  justice,  we  are  to  take  the 
risk  of  the  many  acts  of  injustice  that  would  of  ne 
cessity  follow  from  an  almost  countless  number  of 
agents  established  in  every  parish  or  county  in  nearly 
a  third  of  the  States  of  the  Union,  over  whose  deci 
sion  there  is  to  be  no  supervision  or  control  by  the 
Federal  courts.  The  power  that  would  be  thus  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  President,  is  such  as  in  time  of 
peace  certainly  ought  never  to  be  intrusted  to  any 
one  man.  If  it  be  asked  whether  the  creation  of  such 
a  tribunal  within  a  State  is  warranted  as  a  measure 
of  war,  the  question  immediately  presents  itself,  whe 
ther  we  are  still  engaged  in  war.  Let  us  not  unneces 
sarily  disturb  the  commerce  and  credit  and  industry 
of  the  country,  by  declaring  to  the  American  people 
and  the  world  that  the  United  States  are  still  in  a  con 
dition  of  civil  war.  At  present  there  is  no  part  of  our 
country  in  which  the  authority  of  the  United  States  is 
disputed.  Offences  that  may  be  committed  by  indi 
viduals  should  not  work  a  forfeiture  of  the  rights  of 
the  same  communities.  The  country  has  entered  or 
is  returning  to  a  state  of  peace  and  industry,  arid  the 


23*2  ANDREW    JOHNSON'. 

rebellion  is  in  fact  at  an  end.  The  measure,  therefore, 
seems  to  be  as  inconsistent  with  the  actual  condition 
of  the  country  as  it  is  at  variance  with  the  Constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States. 

"  If,  passing-  from  general  considerations,  we  exam 
ine  the  bill  in  detail,  it  is  open  to  weighty  objections. 
In  time  of  war  it  was  eminently  proper  that  we  should 
provide  for  those  who  were  passing*  suddenly  from  a 
condition  of  bondage  to  a  state  of  freedom.  But  this 
bill  proposes  to  make  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  estab 
lished  by  the  act  of  1865  as  one  of  many  great  and 
extraordinary  military  measures  to  suppress  a  formi 
dable  rebellion,  a  permanent  branch  of  the  public 
administration,  witli  its  powers  greatly  enlarged.  I 
have  no  reason  to  suppose,  and  I  do  not  understand 
it  to  be  alleged,  that  the  act  of  March,  1865,  has  proved 
deficient  for  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  passed, 
although  at  that  time,  and  for  a  considerable  period 
thereafter,  the  Government  of  the  United  States  re 
mained  unacknowledged  in  most  of  the  States  whose 
inhabitants  had  been  involved  in  the  rebellion.  The 
institution  of  slavery,  for  the  military  destruction  of 
which  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  was  culled  into  exist 
ence  as  an  auxiliary  force,  has  been  already  effectually 
and  finally  abrogated  throughout  the  whole  country 
by  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  practically  i's  eradication  lias  received  the 
assent  and  concurrence  of  most  of  those  States  in 
which  it  at  any  time  had  existed.  I  am  not,  therefore, 
able  to  discern  in  the  country  any  thing  to  justify  an 
apprehension  that  the  powers  and  agencies  of  the 
Freedmen's  Bureau,  which  were  effective  for  the  pro 
tection  of  freed  men  and  refugees  during  the  actual 


SERVICES    AND   SPEECHES.  233 

continuation  of  hostilities  and  of  African  servitude, 
will  now,  in  a  time  of  peace  and  after  the  abolition 
of  slavery,  prove  inadequate  to  the  same  proper  ends. 
If  I  am  correct  in  these  views,  there  can  be  no  neces 
sity  for  the  enlargement  of  the  powers  of  the  Bureau 
for  which  provision  is  made  in  the  bill. 

"  The  third  section  of  the  bill  authorizes  a  general 
and  unlimited  grant  of  support  to  the  destitute  and 
suffering  refugees  and  freedmen,  and  their  wives  and 
children.  Succeeding  sections  make  provision  for  the 
rent  or  purchase  of  landed  estates  for  freedmen,  and 
for  the  erection,  for  their  benefit,  of  suitable  asylums 
and  schools,  the  expenses  to  be  defrayed  from  the 
treasury  of  the  whole  people.  The  Congress  of  the 
United  States  has  never,  heretofore,  thought  itself 
competent  to  establish  asylums  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  District  of  Columbia,  except  for  the  benefit  of  our 
disabled  soldiers  and  sailors.  It  has  never  founded 
schools  for  any  class  of  our  own  people,  not  even  for 
the  orphans  of  those  who  have  fallen  in  the  defence 
of  the  Union,  but  has  left  the  care  of  their  education 
to  the  much  more  competent  and  efficient  control  of 
the  States,  of  communities,  of  private  associations, 
and  of  individuals.  It  has  never  deemed  itself  au 
thorized  to  expend  the  public  money  for  the  rent  or 
purchase  of  homes  for  the  thousands,  not  to  say  mil 
lions,  of  the  white  race  who  are  honestly  toiling  from 
day  to  day  for  their  subsistence.  A  system  for  the 
support  of  indigent  persons  in  the  United  States  was 
never  contemplated  by  the  authors  of  the  Constitu 
tion.  Nor  can  any  good  reason  be  advanced  why,  as 
a  permanent  establishment,  it  should  be  founded  for 
one  class  or  color  of  our  people  more  than  for  another. 


234:  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

Pending  the  war,  many  refugees  and  freed  men  re 
ceived  support  from  the  Government,  but  it  was  never 
intended  that  they  should  henceforth  be  fed,  clothed, 
educated,  and  sheltered  by  the  United  States.  The 
idea  on  which  the  slaves  were  assisted  to  freedom 
was,  that  on  becoming-  free  they  would  be  a  self-sus 
taining  population.  Any  legislation  that  shall  imply 
that  they  are  not  expected  to  attain  a  self-sustaining 
condition  must  have  a  tendency  injurious  alike  to  their 
character  and  their  prosperity.  The  appointment  of 
an  agent  for  every  county  and  parish  will  create  an 
immense  patronage,  and  the  expense  of  the  numerous 
officers  and  their  clerks  to  be  appointed  by  the  Presi 
dent  will  be  great  in  the  beginning,  with  a  tendency 
steadily  to  increase.  The  appropriations  asked  by 
the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  as  now  established,  for  the 
year  1866,  amount  to  $11,745,000.  It  may  be  safely 
estimated  that  the  cost  to  be  incurred  under  the  pend 
ing  bill  will  require  double  that  amount, — more  than 
the  entire  sum  expended  in  any  one  year  under  the 
administration  of  the  second  Adams.  If  the  presence 
of  agents  in  every  parish  and  county  is  to  be  con 
sidered  as  a  war  measure,  opposition  or  even  resist 
ance  might  be  provoked,  so  that  to  give  o fleet  to  their 
jurisdiction  troops  would  have  to  be  stationed  within 
reach  of  every  one  of  them,  and  thus  a  standing  army 
be  rendered  necessary.  Large  appropriations  would 
therefore  be  required  to  sustain  and  enforce  mili 
tary  jurisdiction  in  every  county  or  parish  from 
the  Potomac  to  the  Rio  Grande.  The  condition  of 
our  fiscal  affairs,  is  encouraging  ;  but,  in  order  to 
sustain  the  present  measure  of  public  confidence, 
it  is  necessary  that  we  practise  not  merely  custom- 


SERVICES  AND   SPEECHES.  235 

ary  economy,  but,  as  far  as  possible,  severe  retrench 
ment. 

"  In  addition  to  the  objections  already  stated,  the 
fifth  section  of  the  bill  proposes  to  take  away  land 
from  its  former  owners,  without  any  legal  proceedings 
being  first  had,  contrary  to  that  provision  of  the  Con 
stitution  which  declares  that  no  persons  shall  be  de 
prived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property  without  due  process 
of  law.  It  does  not  appear  that  a  part  of  the  lands 
which  this  section  refers  to  may  not  be  owned  by 
minors  or  persons  of  unsound  mind,  or  by  those  who 
have  been  faithful  to  all  their  obligations  as  citizens 
of  the  United  States.  If  any  portion  of  the  land  is 
held  by  such  persons,  it  is  not  competent  for  any  other 
authority  to  deprive  them  of  it.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  be  found  that  the  property  is  liable  to  confiscation, 
even  then  it  cannot  be  appropriated  to  public  pur 
poses  until,  by  due  process  of  law,  it  shall  have  been 
declared  forfeited  to  the  Government. 

"There  are  still  further  objections  to  the  bill,  on 
grounds  seriously  affecting  the  class  of  persons  to 
whom  it  is  designed  to  bring  relief.  It  will  tend  to 
keep  the  mind  of  the  freedman  in  a  state  of  uncertain 
expectation  and  restlessness,  while  to  those  among 
whom  he  lives  it  will  be  a  source  of  constant  and 
vague  apprehension.  Undoubtedly  the  freedman 
should  be  protected  by  the  civil  authorities,  especially 
by  the  exercise  of  all  the  constitutional  powers  of  the 
courts  of  the  United  States  and  of  the  States.  His 
condition  is  not  so  exposed  as  may  at  first  be  imagined. 
He  is  in  a  portion  T)f  the  country  where  his  labor  can 
not  well  be  spared.  Competition  for  his  services  from 
planters,  from  those  who  are  constructing  or  repairing 


230  ANDREW    JOHNSON". 

railroads,  or  from  capitalists  in  liis  vicinage,  or  from 
other  States,  will  enable  him  to  command  almost  his 
own  terms.  lie  also  possesses  a  perfect  right  to 
change  his  place  of  abode,  and  if,  therefore,  he  does 
not  find  in  one  community  or  State  a  mode  of  life 
suited  to  his  desires,  or  proper  remuneration  for  his 
labor,  he  can  move  to  another  where  labor  is  more 
esteemed  and  better  rewarded.  In  truth,  however, 
each  State,  induced  by  its  own  wants  and  interests, 
will  do  what  is  necessary  and  proper  to  retain  within 
its  borders  all  the  labor  that  is  needed  for  the  develop 
ment  of  its  resources.  The  laws  that  regulate  supply 
and  demand  will  maintain  their  force,  and  the  wages 
of  the  laborer  will  be  regulated  thereby.  There  is  no 
danger  that  the  great  demand  for  labor  will  not  oper 
ate  in  favor  of  the  laborer.  Neither  is  sufficient  con 
sideration  given  to  the  ability  of  the  frcedmcn  to 
protect  and  take  care  of  themselves.  It  is  no  more 
than  justice  to  them  to  believe  that,  as  they  have 
received  their  freedom  with  moderation  and  forbear 
ance,  so  they  will  distinguish  themselves  by  their 
industiy  and  thrift,  and  soon  show  the  world  that  in  a 
condition  of  freedom-  they  are  self-sustaining*  and 
capable  of  selecting  their  own  employment  and  their 
own  places  of  abode  ;  of  insisting  for  themselves  on 
a  proper  remuneration,  and  of  establishing  and  main 
taining  their  own  asylums  and  schools.  It  is  earnestly 
hoped  that  instead  of  wasting  away,  they  will,  by 
their  own  efforts,  establish  for  themselves  a  condition 
of  respectability  and  prosperity.  It  is  certain  that 
they  can  attain  to  that  condition  o*nly  through  their 
own  merits  and  exertions.  In  this  connection  the 
query  presents  itself,  whether  the  system  proposed  by 


SERVICES    AND   SPEECHES.  237 

the  bill  will  not,  when  put  into  complete  operation, 
practically  transfer  the  entire  care,  support,  and  con 
trol  of  four  millions  of  emancipated  slaves  to  agents, 
overseers,  or  taskmasters,  who,  appointed  at  Wash 
ington,  are  to  be  located  in  every  county  and  parish 
throughout  the  United  States  containing  freedrnen  and 
refugees.  Such  a  system  would  inevitably  tend  to  such 
a  concentration  of  power  in  the  Executive  as  would 
enable  him,  if  so  disposed,  to  control  the  action  of  a 
numerous  class,  and  use  them  for  the  attainment  of 
his  own  political  ends. 

"  I  cannot  but  add  another  very  grave  objection  to 
this  bill.  The  Constitution  imperatively  declares,  in 
connection  with  taxation,  that  each  State  shall  have 
at  least  one  representative,  and  fixes  the  rule  for  the 
number  to  which  in  future  times  each  State  shall  be 
entitled.  It  also  provides  that  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two  senators  from 
each  State,  and  adds  with  peculiar  force  that  no  State, 
without  its  consent,  shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal 
suffrage  in  the  Senate.  The  original  act  was  neces 
sarily  passed  in  the  absence  of  the  States  chiefly  to 
be  affected,  because  their  people  were  then  contuma 
ciously  engaged  in  the  rebellion.  Now  the  case  is 
changed,  arid  some,  at  least,  of  the  States  are  attend 
ing  Congress  by  loyal  representatives,  soliciting  the 
allowance  of  the  constitutional  right  of  representa 
tion.  At  the  time,  however,  of  the  consideration  and 
the  passing  of  the  bill  there  was  no  senator  or  repre 
sentative  in  Congress  from  the  eleven  States  which 
are  to  be  mainly  affected  by  its  provisions.  The  very 
fact  that  reports  were  and  are  made- against  the  good 
disposition  of  the  country,  is  an  additional  reason  why 


238  AXDHL:\V  JOHNSON". 

they  need  and  should  have  representatives  of  their 
own  in  Congress  to  explain  their  condition,  reply  to 
accusations,  and  assist  by  their  local  knowledge  in 
the  perfecting-  of  measures  immediately  affecting- 
themselves;  while  the  liberty  of  deliberation  would 
then  be  free,  and  Congress  would  have  full  power  to 
decide  according  to  its  judgment.  There  could  be  no 
objection  urged  that  the  States  most'interestcd  had 
not  been  permitted  to  be  heard.  The  principle  is 
firmly  fixed  in  the  minds  of  the  American  people  that 
there  should  be  no  taxation  without  representation. 
Great  burdens  are  now  to  be  borne  by  all  the  country, 
and  we  may  best  demand  that  they  shall  be  borne 
without  murmur  when  they  are  voted  by  a  majority 
of  representatives  of  all  the  people. 

"  I  would  not  interfere  with  the  unquestionable  right 
of  Congress  to  judge,  each  House  for  itself,  of  the 
elections,  returns,  and  qualifications  of  its  own  mem 
bers.  But  that  authority  cannot  be  construed  as  in 
cluding  the  right  to  shut  out  in  time  of  peace  any 
State  from  representation  to  which  it  is  entitled  by 
the  Constitution.  At  present  all  the  people  of  eleven 
States  are  excluded, — those  who  were  most  faithful 
during  the  war  not  less  than  others.  The  State  of 
Tennessee,  for  instance,  whose  authorities  engaged  in 
rebellion,  was  restored  to  all  her  constitutional  rela 
tions  to  the  Union  by  the  patriotism  and  energy  of 
her  injured  and  betrayed  people.  Before  the  war  was 
brought  to  a  termination  they  had  placed  themselves 
in  relations  with  the  (Jcneral  Government,,  had  estab 
lished  a  State  government  of  their  own,  and,  as  they 
were  not  included  in  the  emancipation  proclamation, 
they,  by  their  own  act,  had  amended  their  constitution 


SERVICES  AND   SPEECHES.  239 

so  as  to  abolish  slavery  within  the  limits  of  their 
State.  I  know  no  reason  why  the  State  of  Tennessee, 
for  example,  should  not  fully  enjoy  all  her  constitu 
tional  relations  to  the  United  States. 

"  The  President  of  the  United  States  stands  towards 
the  country  in  a  somewhat  different  attitude  from  that 
of  any  member  of  Congress  chosen  from  a  single  dis 
trict  or  State.  The  President  is  chosen  by  the  people 
of  all  the  States.  Eleven  States  are  not,  at  this  time, 
represented  in  either  branch  of  Congress.  It  would 
seem  to  be  his  duty  on  all  proper  occasions  to  pre 
sent  their  just  claims  to  Congress.  There  always 
will  be  differences  of  opinion  in  the  community,  and 
individuals  may  be  guilty  of  transgressions  of  the 
law.  But  these  do  not  constitute  valid  objections 
against  the  right  of  a  State  to  representation.  I 
would  in  no  wise  interfere  with  the  discretion  of  Con 
gress  with  regard  to  the  qualifications  of  members  ; 
but  I  hold  it  my  duty  to  recommend  to  you  in  the  in 
terests  of  peace,  and  in  the  interests  of  the  Union,  the 
admission  of  every  State  to  its  share  of  public  legisla 
tion,  when,  however  insubordinate,  insurgent,  or  rebel 
lious  its  people  may  have  been,  it  presents  itself  not 
only  in  an  attitude  of  loyalty  and  harmony,  but  in  the 
persons  of  their  representatives  whose  loyalty  cannot 
be  doubted  under  existing  constitutional  or  legal  tests. 
It  is  plain  that  an  indefinite  or  permanent  exclusion 
of  any  part  of  the  country  from  representation  must 
be  attended  by  a  spirit  of  disquiet  and  complaint.  It 
is  unwise  and  dangerous  to  pursue  a  course  of  meas 
ures  which  will  unite  any  large  section  of  the  coun 
try  against  another  section  of  the  country,  no  matter 
how  much  the  latter  may  predominate.  The  course  of 


24:0  ANDREW    JOHNSON". 

immigration,  the  development  of  industry  and  busi 
ness,  and  natural  causes  will  raise  up  at  the  South 
men  as  devoted  to  the  Union  as  those  of  any  other 
part  of  the  land.  But  if  the}7  are  all  excluded  from 
Congress,  if  in  a  permanent  statute  they  are  declared 
not  to  be  in  full  constitutional  relations  to  the  country, 
they  may  think  they  have  cause  to  become  a  unit  in 
feelings  and  sentiments  against  the  Government. 
Under  the  political  education  of  the  American  people, 
the  idea  is  inherent  and  ineradicable  that  the  consent 
of  the  majority  of  the  whole  people  is  necessary  to 
secure  a  willing*  acquiescence  in  legislation.  The  bill 
under  consideration  refers  to  certain  of  the  States  as 
though  they  had  not  '  been  fully  restored  in  all  their 
constitutional  relations  to  the  United  States.'  If  they 
have  not,  let  us  at  once  act  together  to  secure  that 
desirable  end  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  for  me  to  inform  Congress  that,  in 
my  own  judgment,  most  of  those  States,  so  far  at 
least  as  depends  upon  their  own  action,  have  already 
been  full}7  restored,  and  are  to  be  deemed  to  be  en 
titled  to  enjoy  their  constitutional  rights  as  members 
of  the  Union.  Reasoning  from  the  Constitution  itself, 
and  from  the  actual  situation  of  the  country,  I  feel 
not  only  entitled,  but  bound,  to  assume  that  with  the 
Federal  courts  restored  in  the  several  States,  and  in 
the  full  exercise  of  their  functions,  the  rights  and 
interests  of  all  classes  of  the  people  will,  with  the 
aid  of  the  military  in  cases  of  resistance  to  the  law, 
be  essentially  protected  against  unconstitutional  in 
fringement  and  violation.  Should  this  expectation 
unhappily  fail,  which  I  do  not  anticipate,  then  the 
Executive  is  already  armed  with  the  powers  conferred 


SERVICES   AND    SPEECHES.  24:1 

by  the  act  of  March,  1865,  establishing  the  Freed- 
men's  Bureau  ;  and  hereafter,  as  heretofore,  he  can 
employ  the  land  and  naval  forces  of  the  country  to 
suppress  insurrection  and  to  overcome  obstructions  to 
the  laws. 

"  I  return  the  bill  to  the  Senate  in  the  earnest  hope 
that  a  measure  involving  questions  and  interests  so 
important  to  the  country  will  not  become  a  law,  un 
less  upon  deliberate  consideration  by  the  people  it 
shall  receive  the  sanction  of  an  enlightened  public 
judgment. 

"ANDREW  JOHNSON. 

"WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Feb.  19,  1866." 
11 


242  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

SPEECH    TO    THE     CITIZENS     OF    W/YSHINGTON,     FEB. 
22D,  1866. 

ON  Washington's  birthday  a  meeting  was  held 
in  "Washington  to  indorse  the  action  of  the  Presi 
dent  in  vetoing  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  Bill.  All 
the  prominent  men  in  the  city  joined  in  it,  and 
the  crowd  was  immense.  After  the  conclusion  of 
the  meeting,  a  committee  appointed  for  the  pur 
pose  waited  upon  the  President  to  present  him 
the  resolutions,  when  he  appeared  and  made  the 
following  speech  to  the  assembled  multitude  : 

"FELLOW-CITIZENS — for  I  presume  I  have  the  right 
to  address  you  as  snch — to  the  committee  who  have 
conducted  and  organized  this  meeting-  so  far,  I  have 
to  render  my  sincere  thanks  for  the  compliments  and 
approbation  they  have  manifested  in  their  personal 
address  to  myself,  and  in  the  resolutions  they  have 
adopted.  Fellow-citizens — I  was  about  to  tender  my 
thanks  to  the  committee  who  waited  upon  me  and 
presented  me  with  the  resolutions  adopted  on  this 
occasion— resolutions,  as  I  understand,  compliment 
ary  to  the  policy  pursued  by  this  administration  since 
it  came  into  power.  I  am  free  to  say  to  you  on  this 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  243 

occasion,  that  it  is  extremely  gratifying  to  me  to 
know  that  so  large  a  portion  of  my  fellow-citizens 
approve  and  indorse  the  policy  that  has  been  adopt 
ed,  arid  is  intended  to  be  carried  out.  (Applause.) 
That  policy  has  been  one  which  was  intended  to 
restore  the  glorious  union  of  these  States  and  their 
original  relations  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States.  (Prolonged  applause.)  This  seems  to  be  a 
day  peculiarly  appropriate  for  such  a  manifestation — 
the  day  that  gave  birth  to  him  who  founded  this  Gov 
ernment — t|ie  Father  of  his  Country  ;  of  him  who 
stood  at  the  head  of  the  government  when  all  the 
States  entered  into  the  Union.  This  day,  I  say,  is 
peculiarly  appropriate  to  indorse  the  restoration  of 
the  Union  of  these  States  founded  by  the  Father  of 
his  Country.  Washington,  whose  name  this  city 
bears,  is  embalmed  in  the  hearts  of  all  who  love  free 
government.  (A  voice — "  So  is  Andrew  Johnson.") 
Washington,  who,  in  the  language  of  his  eulogists, 
was  "  First  in  peace,  first  in  war,  first  in  the  hearts  of 
his  countrymen."  No  people  can  claim  him  ;  no  nation 
can  appropriate  him  ;  his  reputation  and  life  are  the 
common  inheritance  of  all  who  love  free  government. 

THE  PRESIDENT'S  MOTTO  THAT  OF  ANDREW  JACKSON. 

"  I  to-day  had  the  pleasure  of  attending  the  National 
Washington  Monument  Association,  which  is  direct 
ing  its  efforts  to  complete  the  monument  erected  to 
his  memory.  I  was  glad  to  meet  them,  and,  so  far  as 
I  could,  to  give  them  my  humble  influence.  A  monu 
ment  is  being  erected  to  him  within  a  stone's  throw 
of  the  spot  from  which  I  address  you.  Let  it  be  com 
pleted.  (Cheers.)  Let  the  pledges  which  all  these 


244  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

States,  associations,  and  corporations  have  placed  in 
that  monument  of  their  faith  and  love  for  this  Union 
be  preserved.  Let  it  be  completed,  and  in  this 
connection  let  me  refer  to  the  motto  upon  the  stone 
sent  from  my  own  State.  God  bless  (A  voice — "  And 
bless  you")  a  State  which  has  struggled  for  the  pres 
ervation  of  the  Union,  in  the  field  and  in  the  councils 
of  the  nation,  and  is  now  struggling  in  consequence 
of  the  interruption  that  has  taken  place  in  her  rela 
tions  with  the  Federal  Government,  growing  out  of 
the  rebellion,  but  struggling  to  recover  those  rela 
tions  and  take  her  stand  where  she  has  stood  since 
1796.  A  motto  is  inscribed  on  that  stone  sent  here 
to  be  placed  in  that  monument  of  freedom  and  in 
commemoration  of  Washington.  I  stand  by  that 
sentiment,  and  she  is  willing  to  stand  by  it.  It  was 
the  sentiment  enunciated  by  the  immortal  Andrew 
Jackson,  '  The  Federal  Union — it  must  be  preserved.' 
(Wild  shouts  of  applause.)  Were  it  possible  to  have 
the  great  man  whose  statue  is  now  before  me,  and 
whose  portrait  is  behind  me  in  the  Capitol,  and  whose 
sentiment  is  inscribed  on  the  stone  deposited  in  the 
monument — were  it  possible  to  communicate  with  the 
illustrious  dead,  and  he  could  be  informed  of  or  made 
to  understand  the  working  or  progress  of  faction,  re 
bellion,  and  treason,  the  bones  of  the  old  man  would 
stir  in  their  coffin,  and  he  would  rise  and  shake  off  the 
habiliments  of  the  tomb  ;  he  would  extend  that  long 
arm  and  finger  of  his,  and  he  would  reiterate  that  glo 
rious  sentiment,  '  The  Federal  Union — it  must  be  pre 
served.'  (Applause.)  But  we  sec  and  witness  what  has 
transpired  since  his  day.  We  remember  what  he  did 
in  1833,  when  treason,  treachery,  and  infidelity  to  the 


SERVICES   AND    SPEECHES.  2-15 

Government  and  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
then  stalked  forth.  It  was  his  power  and  influence 
that  then  crushed  the  treason  in  its  infancy.  It  was 
then  stopped  :  but  only  for  a  time — the  spirit  con 
tinued.  There  were  men  disaffected  to  the  Govern 
ment  both  North  and  South.  We  had  peculiar  insti 
tutions,  of  which  some  complained  and  to  which  others 
were  attached.  One  portion  of  our  countrymen  advo 
cated  that  institution  in  the  South  ;  another  opposed 
it  in  the  North  ;  and  it  resulted  in  creating  two  ex 
tremes.  The  one  in  the  South  reached  the  point  at 
which  they  were  prepared  to  dissolve  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States,  to  secure  and  preserve 
their  peculiar  institution  ;  and  in  what  I  may  say  on 
this  occasion  I  want  to  be  understood." 

THE    REPUBLICANS    AS    DISUNIOXISTS. 

"  There  was  another  portion  of  our  countrymen  who 
were  opposed  to  this  peculiar  institution  in  the  South, 
and  who  went  to  the  extreme  of  being  willing  to  break 
up  the  Government  to  get  clear  of  it.  [Applause.]  I 
am  talking  to  you  to-day  in  the  common  phrase,  and 
assume  to  be  nothing  but  a  citizen,  and  one  who  has 
been  righting  for  the  Constitution  and  to  preserve  the 
Government.  These  two  parties  have  been  arrayed 
against  each  other  ;  and  I  stand  before  you  to-day,  as 
I  did  in  the  Senate  in  1860,  in  the  presence  of  those 
who  were  making  war  on  the  Constitution,  and  who 
wanted  to  disrupt  the  Government,  to  denounce,  as  I 
then  did  in  my  place,  those  who  were  so  engaged,  as 
traitors.  I  have  never  ceased  to  repeat,  and  so  far 
as  my  efforts  could  go,  to  carry  out,  the  sentiments  I 
then  uttered.  [Cheers.]  I  have  already  remarked 


ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

that  there  were  two  parties,  one  for  destroying-  the 
Government  to  preserve  slaveiy,  and  the  other  to 
break  np  the  Government  to  destroy  slavery.  The 
objects  to  be  accomplished  were  different,  it  is  true, 
so  far  as  slavery  is  concerned,  but  they  agreed  in  one 
thing,  and  that  was  the  breaking  up  of  the  Govern 
ment.  They  agreed  in  the  destruction  of  the  Govern 
ment,  the  precise  thing  which  I  have  stood  up  to 
oppose.  Whether  the  disunionists  come  from  the  South 
or  the  North  I  stand  now  where  I  did  then,  to  vindicate 
the  Union  of  these  States  and  the  Constitution  of  the 
country."  [Applause.] 

THE  DOORS  OPEN  TO  THE  SOUTH. 

"The  rebellion  or  treason  manifested  itself  in  the 
South.  I  stood  by  the  Government.  I  said  I  was  for 
the  Union  with  slavery,  or  I  was  for  the  Union  with 
out  slavery.  In  either  alternative,  I  was  for  my  Gov 
ernment  and  the  Constitution.  [Applause.]  The 
Government  has  stretched  forth  its  strong  arm,  and 
with  its  physical  power  has  put  down  treason  in  the 
field.  Yes,  the  section  of  country  which  has  arrayed 
itself  against  the  Government  has  been  put  down  by 
the  Government  itself.  Now,  what  do  these  people 
say  ?  We  said,  '  No  compromise  ;  we  can  settle  this 
question  with  the  South  in  eight  and  forty  hours.' 
How?  'Disband  your  armies,  acknowledge  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States,  obey  the  law,  and  the 
whole  question  is  settled.'  Well,  their  armies  have 
been  disbanded.  They  come  forward  now  in  a  spirit 
of  magnanimity  and  say,  '  We  were  mistaken;  we 
made  an  effort  to  carry  out  the  doctrine  of  secession 
and  dissolve  tho  Union,  but  we  have  failed;  and, 


SERVICES  AND   SPEECHES. 

having  traced  this  thing  to  a  logical  and  physical 
consequence  and  result,  we  now  again  come  forward 
and  acknowledge  the  flag  of  our  country,  obedient  to 
tho  Constitution  and  the  supremacy  of  the  law.' 
[Cheers.]  I  say,  then,  when  you  have  yielded  to  the 
law,  when  you  acknowledge  your  allegiance  to  the 
Government,  /  am  ready  to  open  the  doors  of  the  Union 
and  restore  you  to  your  old  relations  to  the  Government 
of  our  fathers"  [Prolonged  applause.] 

THE    EXECUTIVE    POWER, 

"  Who,  I  ask,  has  suffered  more  for  the  Union  than 
I  have  ?  I  shall  not  now  repeat  the  wrongs  or  suffer 
ing  inflicted  upon  me  ;  but  it  is  not  the  way  to  deal 
with  a  whole  people  in  the  spirit  of  revenge.  I  know 
much  has  been  said  about  the  exercise  of  the  pardon 
ing  power,  so  far  as  the  Executive  power  is  concerned. 
There  is  no  one  who  has  labored  harder  than  I  have  to 
have  the  principal  conscious  and  intelligent  traitors 
brought  to  justice ;  to  have  the  law  vindicated,  and 
the  great  fact  vindicated  that  treason  is  a  crime. 
Yet,  while  conscious,  intelligent  traitors  are  to  be 
punished,  should  whole  States,  communities,  and  peo,- 
ple  be  made  to  submit  to  and  bear  the  penalty  of 
death  ?  I  have,  perhaps,  as  much  hostility  and  as 
much  resentment  as  a  man  ought  to  have  ;  but  we 
should  conform  our  action  and  our  conduct  to  the  ex 
ample  of  Him  who  founded  our  holy  religion — not  that 
I  would  liken  this  to  it  or  bring  any  comparison,  for  I 
am  not  going  to  detain  you  long." 

THE    CONDITION  OF  AFFAIRS,  AND  HOW  IT  IS  TO  BE  REMEDIED. 

"  But,  gentlemen,  I  came  into  power  under  the  Con- 


2±3  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

stitution  of  the  country  and  by  the  approbation  of  the 
people.  And  what  did  I  find?  I  found  eight  millions 
of  people  who  were  in  fact  condemned  under  the  law — 
and  the  penalty  was  death.  Under  the  idea  of  revenge 
and  resentment,  they  were  to  be  annihilated  and  de 
stroyed.  Oh,  how  different  this  from  the  example  set 
by  the  holy  Founder  of  our  religion,  whose  divine  arm 
touches  the  horizon  and  embraces  the  whole  earth ! 
Yes,  He  who  founded  this  great  scheme  came  into  the 
world  and  found  our  race  condemned  under  the  law — 
and  the  sentence  was  death.  What  was  His  example  ? 
Instead  of  putting  the  world  or  a  nation  to  death,  He 
went  forth  with  grace  and  attested  by  His  blood  and 
His  wounds  that  He  would  die  and  let  the  nation  live. 
[Applause.]  Let  them  become  loyal  and  willing1  sup 
porters  and  defenders  of  our  glorious  Stripes  and  Stars 
and  the  Constitution  of  our  country.  Let  their  leaders, 
the  conscious,  intelligent  traitors,  suffer  the  penalty  of 
the  law,  but  for  the  great  mass  who  have  been  forced 
into  this  rebellion  and  misled  by  their  leaders,  I  say 
leniency,  kindness,  trust,  and  confidence."  [Enthusiastic 
cheers.] 

THE    RADICAL   REBELS. 

"But,  my  countrymen,  after  having  passed  through 
the  rebellion  and  given  such  evidence  as  I  have — 
though  men  croak  a  great  deal  about  it  now — (laugh 
ter)  when  I  look  back  through  the  battle-fields  and  , 
see  many  of  those  brave  men,  in  whose  company  I 
was  in  part  of  the  rebellion  where  it  was  most  diffi 
cult  and  doubtful  to  be  found  ;  before  the  smoke  of 
battle  has  scarcely  passed  away;  before  the  blood 
shed  has  scarcely  congealed,  what  do  we  find  ?  The 


SERVICES    AND   SPEECHES.  249 

rebellion  is  put  down  by  the  strong  arm  of  the  Gov 
ernment  in  the  field ;  but  is  it  the  only  way  in  which  we 
can  have  rebellion  f  They  struggled  for  the  breaking- 
up  of  the  Government,  but  before  they  are  scarcely 
out  of  the  battle-field,  and  before  our  brave  men  have 
scarcely  returned  to  their  homes  to  renew  the  ties  of 
affection  and  love,  we  find  ourselves  almost  in  the 
midst  of  another  rebellion.  [Applause.]  The  war  to 
suppress  our  rebellion  was  to  prevent  the  separation 
of  the  States,  and  thereby  change  tlie  character  of 
the  Government  and  weakening  its  power.  Now, 
what  is  the  change  ?  There  is  an  attempt  to  concen 
trate  the  power  of  the  Government  in  the  hands  of  a 
few,  and  thereby  bring  about  a  consolidation,  which  is 
equally  dangerous  and  objectionable  with  separation. 
[Enthusiastic  applause.]  We  findxthat  powers  are 
assumed  and  attempted  to  be  exercised  of  a  most  ex 
traordinary  character.  What  are  they  ?  We  find  that 
Government  can  be  revolutionized,  can  be  changed  with 
out  going  into  the  battle-field.  Sometimes  revolutions 
the  most  disastrous  to  the  people  are  effected  without 
shedding  blood.  The  substance  of  our  Government 
may  be  taken  away,  leaving  only  the  form  and  shadow. 
Now,  what  are  the  attempts  ?  What  is  being  pro 
posed  ? 

USURPATIONS    OF    CONGRESS. 

"  We  find  that,  in  fact,  by  an  irresponsible  central 
directory,  nearly  all  the  powers  of  Government  are 
assumed  without  even  consulting  the  legislative  or 
executive  departments  of  the  Government.  Yes,  and 
by  resolution  reported  by  a  committee  upon  whom  all 
the  legislative  power  of  the  Government  has  .been 
11* 


250  ANDREW    JOHN  SOX. 

conferred,  that  principle  in  the  Constitution  winch 
authorizes  and  empowers  each  branch  of  the  legisla 
tive  department  to  be  judges  of  the  election  and  quali 
fications  of  its  own  members,  has  been  virtually  taken 
away  from  those  departments  and  conferred  upon  a 
committee,  who  must  report  before  they  can  act  under 
the  Constitution  and  allow  members  duly  elected  to 
take  their  seats.  By  this  rule  they  assume  that  there 
must  be  laws  passed;  that  there  must  be  recognition 
in  respect  to  a  State  in  the  Union,  with  all  its  practi 
cal  relations  restored,  before  the  respective  houses  of 
Congress,  under  the  Constitution,  shall  judge  of  the 
election  and  qualifications  of  its  own  members.  What 
position  is  that  ?  You  have  been  struggling  for  four 
years  to  put  down  the  rebellion.  You  denied  in  the 
beginning  of  the  struggle  that  any  State  had  the  right 
to  go  out.  You  said  that  they  had  neither  the  right 
nor  the  power.  The  issue  has  been  made,  and  it  has 
been  settled  that  a  State  has  neither  the  right  nor  the 
power  to  go  out  of  the  Union.  And  when  you  have 
settled  that  by  the  executive  and  military  power  of 
the  Government,  and  by  the  public  judgment,  }TOU  turn 
around  and  assume  that  they  are  out  and  shall  not  come 
in.1''  [Laughter  arid  cheers.] 

NOT  THE  PRESIDENT'S  POSITION. 

"  I  am  free  to  say  to  you,  as  your  Executive,  that  / 
am  not  prepared  to  take  any  such  position.  I  said  in  the 
Senate,  at  the  very  inception  of  the  rebellion,  that 
States  had  no  right  to  go  out  and  that  they  had  no 
power  to  go  out.  That  question  has  been  settled. 
And  I  cannot  turn  round  now  and  give  the  direct  be- 
to  all  I  profess  to  have  done  in  the  last  five  years 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  251 

[Laughter  and  applause.]  I  can  do  no  such  thing1. 
I  say  that  when  these  States  comply  with  the  Consti 
tution,  when  they  have  given  sufficient  evidence  of 
their  loyalty,  and  that  they  can  be  trusted,  when  they 
yield  obedience  to  the  law,  I  say,  extend  to  them  the 
rigid  hand  of  fellowship,  and  let  peace  and  union  be 
restored.  [Loud  cheers.]  I  have  fought  traitors  and 
treason  in  the  South  ;  I  opposed  the  Pavises  and 
Toombses,  the  Slidells,  and  a  long  list  of  others  whose 
names  I  need  not  repeat;  and  now,  when  I  turn  round 
at  the  other  end  of  the  line,  I  find  men — I  care  not  by 
what  name  you  call  them — [A  voice,  '  Call  them  trai 
tors']  ,  who  still  stand  opposed  to  the  restoration  of  the 
Union  of  these  States.  And  I  am  free  to  say  to  you 
that  I  am  still  for  the  preservation  of  this  compact ;  I 
am  still  for  the  restoration  of  this  Union  ;  I  am  still 
in  favor  of  this  great  Government  of  ours  going  on 
and  following  out  its  destiny.  [A  voice,  '  Give  us 
the  names.']" 

THE    DISUNIONISTS    ANNOUNCED    BY    NAME. 

"A  gentleman  calls  for  their  names.  Well,  suppose 
I  should  give  them.  [A  voice,  '  We  know  them.']  I 
look  upon  them — I  repeat  it,  as  President  or  citizen — 
as  being  as  much  opposed  to  the  fundamental  prin 
ciples  of  this  Government,  and  believe  they  are  as 
much  laboring  to  pervert  or  destroy  them  as  were  the 
men  who  fought  against  us.  [A  voice, '  What  are 
the  names  ?']  I  say  Thaddeus  Stevens,  of  Pennsylvania 
— [tremendous  applause] — /  say  Charles  Sumner — 
[great  applause] — I  say  Wendell  Phillips,  and  others 
of  the  same  stripe,  are  among  them.  [A  voice,  '  Give  it 
to  Forney.']  Some  gentleman  in  the  crowd  says, 


252  A-NDKEW    JOilXSON. 

'  Give  it  to  Forney.'  I  have  only  just  to  say  that  I  do 
not  waste  my  ammunition  upon  dead  ducks"  [Laughter 
and  applause.] 

THE    PRESIDENT    FOR   THE    WHOLE    COUNTRY. 

"  I  stand  for  my  country,  I  stand  for  the  Constitu 
tion,  where  I  placed  my  feet  from  my  entrance  into 
public  life.  They  may  traduce  me,  they  may  slander 
ine,  they  may  vituperate  ;  but  let  me  say  to  you  that 
it  has  no  effect  upon  me.  [Cheers.]  And  let  me  say 
in  addition,  that  I  do  not  intend  to  be  bullied  by  my  ene 
mies.  [Applause,  and  a  cry,  '  The  people  will  sustain 
you.']  I  know,  my  countrymen,  that  it  has  been  in 
sinuated,  and  not  only  insinuated,  but  said  directly — 
the  intimation  has  been  given  in  high  places — that  if 
such  a  usurpation  of  power  had  been  exercised  two 
hundred  years  ago  in  a  particular  reign  it  would  have 
cost  a  certain  individual  his  head.  "What  usurpa 
tion  has  Andrew  Johnson  been  guilty  of?  ['None, 
none.']  The  usurpation  I  have  been  guilty  of  has 
always  been  standing  between  the  people  and  the  en 
croachments  of  power.  And  because  I  dared  to  say 
in  a  conversation  with  a  fellow-citizen,  and  a  senator 
too,  that  I  thought  amendments  to  the  Constitution 
ought  not  to  be  so  frequent  ;  that  their  effect  would 
be  that  it  would  lose  all  its  dignity  ;  that  Die  old  in 
strument  would  be  lost  sight  of  in  a  short  time  ;  be 
cause  I  happened  to  say  that  if  it  was  amende^  such 
and  such  amendments  should  be  adopted — it  was  u 
usurpation  of  power  that  would  have  cost  a  king  his 
head  at  a  certain  time.  [Laughter  and  applause.] 
And  in  connection  with  this  subject  it  was  explained 
by  the  same  gentleman  that  we  were  iu  the  midst  of 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  253 

an  earthquake,  that  he  trembled  and  could  not  yield. 
[Laughter.]  Yes,  there  is  an  earthquake  coming. 
There  is  a  ground-swell  coming  of  popular  judgment 
and  indignation.  ['  That's  true.']  The  American  peo 
ple  will  speak  by  their  interests,  and  they  will  know 
who  are  their  friends,  and  who  their  enemies.  What 
positions  have  I  held  under  this  government  ?  Begin 
ning  with  an  alderman  and  running  through  all 
branches  of  the  Legislature.  [A  voice — '  From  a 
tailor  up.')  Some  gentleman  says  I  have  been  a 
tailor.  [Tremendous  applause.]  Now,  that  did  not 
discomfit  me  in  the  least ;  for  when  I  used  to  be  a 
tailor  I  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  good  one,  and 
making  close  fits — [great  laughter] — always  punc 
tual  with  my  customers,  and  always  did  good  work. 
[A  voice — '  No  patchwork.']  No,  I  do  not  want  any 
patchwork.  I  want  a  whole  suit.  But  I  will  pass 
by  this  little  facetiousness.  My  friends  may  say  you 
are  President,  and  you  must  not  talk  about  such 
things.  When  principles  are  involved,  my  country 
men,  when  the  existence  of  my  country  is  imperilled, 
I  will  act  as  I  did  on  former  occasions,  and  speak 
what  I  think.  I  was  saying  that  I  had  held  nearly 
all  positions,  from  alderman,  through  both  branches 
of  Congress,  to  that  which  I  now  occupy,  and  who  is 
there  that  will  say  that  Andrew  Johnson  ever  made  a 
pledge  that  he  did  not  redeem,  or  made  a  promise  he 
did  not  fulfil  ?  Who  will  say  that  he  has  ever  acted 
otherwise  than  in  fidelity  to  the  great  mass  of  the 
American  people  ?  They  may  talk  about  beheading 
and  usurpation  ;  but  when  I  am  beheaded  I  want  the 
American  people  to  witness  I  do  not  ,want  by  inuen- 
does,  by  indirect  marks  in  high  places,  to  see  the  man 


254:  ANDREW   JOHNSON. 

who  has  assassination  brooding1  in  his  bosom,  ex 
claim,  '  This  presidential  obstacle  must  be  gotten  out 
of  the  way.'  I  make  use  of  a  very  strong-  expres 
sion  when  I  say  that  I  have  no  doubt  the  intention 
was  to  incite  assassination,  and  so  get  out  of  the  way 
the  obstacle  from  place  and  power.  Whether  by 
assassination  or  not,  there  are  individuals  in  this 
Government,  I  doubt  not,  who  want  to  destroy  our 
institutions  and  change  the  character  of  the  Govern 
ment.  Are  they  not  satisfied  with  the  blood  which 
has  been  shed  ?  Does  not  the  murder  of  Lincoln  ap 
pease  the  vengeance  and  wrath  of  the  opponents  of 
this  Government  ?  Are  they  still  unslaked  ?  Do  they 
still  want  more  blood  ?  Have  they  not  got  honor  and 
courage  enough  to  attain  their  object  otherwise  than 
by  the  hands  of  the  assassin  ?  No,  no  ;  I  am  not 
afraid  of  assassins  attacking  me  where  a  brave  and 
courageous  man  would  attack  another.  I  only  dread 
him  when  he  would  go  in  disguise,  his  footsteps 
noiseless.  If  it  is  blood  they  want,  let  them  have 
courage  enough  to  strike  like  men.  I  know  they  are 
willing  to  wound,  but  they  are  afraid  to  strike.  [Ap 
plause.]  If  my  blood  is  to  be  shed  because  I  vindi 
cate  the  Union  and  the  preservation  of  this  Govern 
ment  in  its  original  purity  arid  character,  let  it  be 
shed  ;  let  an  altar  to  the  Union  be  erected,  and  then, 
if  it  is  necessary,  take  me  and  lay  me  upon  it,  and  tho 
blood  that  now  warms  and  animates  my  existence 
shall  be  poured  out  as  a  fit  libation  to  the  Union  ot 
these  States.  [Great  applause.]  But  let  the  oppo 
nents  of  this  Government  remember  that  when  it  is 
poured  out,  '  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  will  be  the  seed 
of  the  Church.'  [Cheers.]  Gentlemen,  this  Union 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  255 

will  grow — it  will  continue  to  increase  in  strength 
and  power,  though  it  may  be  cemented  and  cleansed 
in  blood.  I  have  talked  longer  now  than  I  intended. 
Let  me  thank  you  for  the  honor  you  have  done  me." 

MR.  LINCOLN'S  IDEA  OF  COMPULSORY  REPRESENTATION. 

"  So  far  as  this  Government  is  concerned,  let  me 
say  one  word  in  reference  to  the  amendments  to  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  When  I  reached 
Washington  for  the  purpose  of  being  inaugurated  as 
Vice-Presideut  of  the  United  States  I'had  a  conversa 
tion  with  Mr.  Lincoln.  We  were  talking  about  the 
condition  of  affairs  and  in  reference  to  matters  in  my 
own  State.  I  said  that  we  had  called  a  convention, 
had  amended  our  Constitution  by  abolishing  slavery 
in  the  State — a  State  not  embraced  in  his  proclama 
tion.  All  this  met  his  approbation  and  gave  him  en 
couragement,  and  in  talking  upon  the  amendment  to 
the  Constitution,  he  said  :  '  When  the  amendment  to 
the  Constitution  is  adopted  by  three-fourths  of  the 
States,  we  shall  have  all,  or  pretty  nearly  all.  I  am 
in  favor  of  amending  the  Constitution,  if  there  was  one 
other  adopted.'  Said  I,  '  What  is  that,  Mr.  President  V 
Said  he,  '  I  have  labored  to  preserve  this  Union.  I 
have  toiled  four  years  ;  I  have  been  subjected  to  cal 
umny  and  misrepresentation,  yet  my  great  desire  has 
been  to  preserve  the  Union  of  these  States  intact  un 
der  the  Constitution  as  they  were  before.'  *  But,'  said 
I,  '  Mr.  President,  what  amendment  do  you  refer  to  V 
He  said  he  thought  there  should  be  an  amendment  to 
the  Constitution  which  would  compel  all  the  States  to 
send  their  Senators  and  Representatives  to  the  Con 
gress  of  the  United  States.  Yes,  compel  them.  The 


256  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

idea  was  in  his  mind  that  it  was  a  part  of  the  doc 
trine  of  secession  to  break  up  the  Government  by 
States  withdrawing-  their  Senators  and  Representa 
tives  from  Congress  ;  and,  therefore,  lie  desired  a 
Constitutional  amendment  to  compel  them  to  be  sent." 

THE    DISUNION    IDEA    OF    NO    REPRESENTATION. 

"  How  now  docs  the  matter  stand  ?  In  the  Constitu 
tion  of  the  country,  even  that  portion  of  it  which  pro 
vides  for  the  amendment  of  the  organic  law,  says  that 
no  State  shall,  without  its  consent,  be  deprived  of  its 
representation  in  the  Senate.  And  now  what  do  we 
find  ?  We  find  the  position  taken  that  States  shall  not 
be  represented  ;  that  we  may  impose  taxes  ;  that  we 
may  send  our  tax-gatherers  to  every  region  and  por 
tion  of  a  State  ;  that  the  people  are  to  be  oppressed 
with  taxes  ;  but  when  they  come  here  to  participate  in 
legislation  of  the  country,  they  are  met  at  the  door,  and 
told,  '  No  !  you  must  pay  your  taxes  ;  you  must  bear 
the  burdens  of  the  Government  ;  but  you  must  not 
participate  in  the  legislation  of  the  country,  which  is 
to  affect  you  for  all  time.'  Is  this  just  ?  ['  Xo,  no.'] 
Then,  I  say,  let  us  admit  into  the  councils  of  the 
nation  those  who  are  unmistakably  and  unequivocally 
loyal — those  men  who  acknowledge  their  allegiance 
to  the  Government  and  swear  to  support  the  Constitu 
tion.  It  is  all  embraced  in  that.  The  amplification  of 
an  oath  makes  no  difference,  if  a  man  is  not  loyal.  But 
yon  may  adopt  whatever  test  oath  you  please  to  prove 
their  loyalty.  That  is  a  matter  of  detail  for  which  I 
care  nothing.  Let  him  be  unquestionably  loyal, 
owing  his  allegiance  to  the  Government  and  willing* 
to  support  it  in  its  hour  of  peril  and  of  need,  and  I  am 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  257 

willing  to  trust  him.  I  know  that  some  do  not  attach 
so  much  importance  to  this  principle  as  I  do.  But 
one  principle  we  carried  through.  The  Revolution 
was  fought  that  there  should  be  no  taxation  without 
representation.  I  hold  to  that  principle,  laid  down  as 
fundamental  by  our  fathers.  If  it  was  good  then,  it  is 
now.  If  it  was  a  rule  to  stand  by  then,  it  is  a  rule 
to  stand  by  now.  It  is  a  fundamental  principle  that 
should  be  adhered  to  as  long  as  governments  last." 

THE    CONSTITUTION    OUR   GUIDE    AND    SAFETY. 

"  I  know  it  was  said  by  some  during  the  rebellion 
that  our  Constitution  had  been  rolled  up  as  a  piece  of 
parchment  and  laid  away  ;  that  in  the  time  of  war 
and  rebellion  there  was  no  Constitution.  Well,  we 
know  that  sometimes,  from  the  very  great  necessity  of 
the  case,  from  a  great  emergency,  we  must  do  uncon 
stitutional  things  in  order  to  preserve  the  Constitution 
itself.  But  if,  while  the  rebellion  was  going  on,  the 
Constitution  was  rolled  up  as  a  piece  of  parchment ; 
if  it  was  violated  in  some  particular  to  save  the  Gov 
ernment,  there  may  have  been  some  excuse  to  justify 
it :  but  now  that  peace  has  come,  now  the  war  is 
over,  we  want  a  written  Constitution,  and  I  say  the 
time  has  come  to  take  the  Constitution  down,  unroll 
it,  read  it,  and  understand  its  provisions.  Now,  if  you 
have  saved  the  Government  by  violating  the  Constitu 
tion  in  war,  you  can  only  save  it  in  peace  by  preserv 
ing  the  Constitution  of  our  fathers  as  it  is  now  un 
folded.  It  must  now  be  read  and  understood  by  the 
American  people.  I  come  here  to-day,  as  far  as  I  can 
in  making  these  remarks,  to  vindicate  the  Constitution 
and  to  save  it,  for  it  does  seem  to  me  that  encroach- 


258  ANDKEW    JOHNSON. 

merit  after  encroachment  is  proposed.  I  stand  to-day 
prepared,  as  far  as  I  can,  to  resist  these  encroach 
ments  upon  the  Constitution  and  Government.  Now 
that  we  have  peace,  let  us  enforce  the  Constitution  ; 
let  us  live  under  and  I)}'  its  provisions  ;  let  it  be  pub 
lished  ;  let  it  be  printed  in  blazing  characters,  as  if  it 
were  in  the  heavens,  punctuated  with  stars,  that  all 
may  read  and  understand  ;  let  us  consult  that  instru 
ment  ;  let  us  digest  its  provisions,  understand  them, 
and,  understanding-,  abide  by  them.  I  tell  the  oppo 
nents  of  the  Government,  I  care  not  from  what  quarter 
they  come — whether  from  the  East,  West,  North,  or 
South,  you  who  are  engaged  in  the  work  of  breaking  up 
the  Government  by  amendments  to  the  Constitution,  that 
the  principles  of  free  government,  all  deeply  rooted  in 
the  American  heart,  all  the  powers  combine^,  I  care- 
not  of  what  character  they  are,  cannot  destroy  that 
great  instrument,  that  great  chart  of  freedom.  They 
may  seem  to  succeed  for  a  time  ;  but  their  attempts 
will  be  futile.  They  might  as  well  undertake  to  lock 
up  the  winds  or  chain  the  waves  of  the  ocean  and  con 
fine  them  to  limits.  They  may  think  now  it  can  be 
done  by  a  concurrent  resolution  ;  but  when  it  is  sub 
mitted  to  the  popular  judgment  and  to  the  popular 
will,  they  will  find  that  they  might  as  well  introduce  a 
resolution  to  repeal  the  laws  of  gravity  as  to  keep  this 
Union  from  being  restored.  It  is  just  about  as  feasible 
to  resist  the  great  law  of  gravity,  which  binds  all  to 
a  common  centre,  as  that  great  law  which  will  bring 
back  these  States  to  their  regular  relations  with  the 
Union.  All  these  conspiracies  and  machinations,  North 
and  South,  I  cannot  prevent.  All  that  is  wanted  is 
time,  until  the  American  people  can  get  to  see  what  is 


SERVICES   AXD   SPEECHES.  259 

going1  on.  I  would  the  whole  American  people  could 
be  assembled  here  to-day,  as  you  are.  I  wish  we  had 
an  amphitheatre  capacious  enough  to  hold  these  thirty 
millions  of  people,  that  they  could  be  here  and  witness 
the  struggle  that  is  going  on  to  preserve  the  Consti 
tution  of  their  fathers.  They  would  settle  this  ques 
tion.  They  could  see  who  it  is,  and  how  and  what 
kind  of  spirit  is  breaking  up  this  free  Government. 
Yes,  when  they  come  to  see  the  struggle  and  under 
stand  who  is  for  and  who  against  them,  if  you  could 
make  them  perform  the  part  of  gladiators,  in  the  first 
tilt  you  would  find  the  enemies  of  the  country  crushed 
and  helpless." 

AND?  JOHNSON'S  LUCK. 

"  I  have  detained  you  longer  than  I  intended. 
[Voices,  '  Go  on.']  We  are  in  a  great  struggle.  I 
am  your  instrument.  Who  is  there  I  have  not  toiled 
and  labored  for  ?  Where  is  the  man  or  woman,  either 
in  public  or  private  life,  who  has  not  always  received 
my  attention  or  my  time  ?  Pardon  tfce  egotism.  They 
say  that  man  Johnson  is  a  lucky  man,  that  no  man 
can  defeat  me.  I  will  tell  you  what  constitutes  luck. 
It  is  due  to  right,  and  being  for  the  people  ;  that  is 
what  constitutes  good  luck.  Somehow  or  other  the 
people  will  find  out  and  understand  who  is  for  and 
who  is  against  them.  I  have  been  placed  in  as  many 
trying  positions  as  any  mortal  man  was  ever  placed 
in,  but  so  far  I  have  not  deserted  the  people,  and  I 
believe  they  will  not  desert  me.  What  principle  have 
I  violated?  What  sentiments  have  I  swerved  from  ? 
Can  they  put  their  finger  upon  it  ?  Have  you  heard 
of  them  pointing  out  any  discrepancy  ?  Have  you 


260  AND.UKW    JOHNSON. 

heard  them  quote  my  predecessor,  who  fell  a  martyr 
to  his  country's  cause,  as  going  in  opposition  or  in 
contradistinction  to  any  thing-  that  I  have  done  ?  The 
very  policy  which  I  am  pursuing1  now  was  pursued 
under  his  administration — was  being  pursued  by  him 
when  that  inscrutable  Providence  saw  fit  to  summon 
him,  I  trust,  to  a  better  world.  Where  is  there  one 
principle  adopted  by  him  in  reference  to  this  restora 
tion  that  I  have  departed  from.  ['  None,  none.']  The 
war,  then,  is  not  simply  upon  me,  but  upon  my  prede 
cessor.  I  have  tried  to  do  my  duty.  I  know  that 
some  people,  in  their  jealousy,  have  made  the  remark 
that  the  White  House  is  President.  Just  let  me  say 
that  the  charms  of  the  White  House  and  all  that  sort 
of  flummery  has  less  influence  with  me  than  with  those 
who  are  talking  about  it.  The  little  I  eat  or  wear 
does  not  amount  to  much.  That  required  to  sustain 
me  and  my  little  family  is  very  little,  for  I  am  not 
feeding  many,  though  in  one  sense  of  consanguinity  I 
am  akin  to  everybody.  The  conscious  satisfaction  of 
having  performed*  my  duty  to  my  country  is  all  the 
reward  I  have." 

STAND    BY    THE    CONSTITUTION. 

"  Then,  in  conclusion,  let  me  ask  this  vast  concourse, 
this  sea  of  upturned  faces,  to  join  with  me  in  stand 
ing  round  the  Constitution  of  our  country.  It  is  again 
unfolded  and  the  people  are  invited  to  read,  to  under 
stand,  and  to  maintain  its  provisions.  Let  us  stand 
by  the  Constitution  of  our  lathers,  though  the  heavens 
themselves  may  fall.  Let  us  stand  by  it,  though  fac 
tion  may  rage.  Though  taunts  and  jeers  may  come, 
though  vituperation  may  como  in  its  most  violent  char- 


SERVICES   AND    SPEECHES.  261 

acter,  /  will  be  found  standing  by  the  Constitution  as  the 
chief  rock  of  our  safety,  as  the  palladium  of  our  civil 
and  religious  liberty.  Yes,  let  us  cling-  to  it  as  the 
mariner  clings  to  his  last  plank  when  night  and  tem 
pest  close  around  him.  Accept  my  thanks  for  the 
indulgence  you  have  given  me  in  making  the  extem 
poraneous  remarks  I  have  upon  this  occasion.  Let 
us  go  forward,  forgetting  the  past  and  looking  to  the 
future,  and  try  to  restore  our  country.  Trusting  in 
Him  wlio  rules  on  high  that  ere  long  our  Union  will 
be  restored,  and  that  we  will  have  peace,  not  only  on 
earth,  but  especially  with  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  and  good-will,  I  thank  you,  my  countrymen, 
for  the  spirit  you  have  manifested  on  this  occasion. 
When  your  country  is  gone,  and  you  are  about, 
look  out  and  you  will  find  the  humble  individual 
who  now  stands  before  you  weeping  over  its  final 
dissolution." 

A  New  York  paper  refers  to  the  reception  of 
the  above  remarkable  speech  of  President  John 
son  in  Europe  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  The  English  papers  praise  in  the  strongest  terms 
the  President's  speech  delivered  on  Washington's 
birthday.  That  speech  has  put  before  the  world  the 
true,  clear  view  of  the  state  of  parties  here,  and  has 
extorted,  for  the  leader  of  the  people,  expressions  of 
the  most  earnest  admiration  from  quarters  hitherto 
content  to  cavil  and  sneer  at  all  that  originates  on  this 
side  the  Atlantic.  The  speech  that  the  radicals  de 
nounced  as  horrible,  vulgar,  unfortunate,  and  out 
rageous  ;  that  some  of  the  President's  friends  even 


262  ANDHEW    JOHXSON". 

were  inclined  to  excuse  and  explain,  and  that  the 
Herald  declared  to  be  greater  and  finer  than  any  thing 
in  Demosthenes,  receives  from  Europe  the  highest  pos 
sible  meed  of  praise  for  its  energetic  simplicity,  and 
for  its  sentiments  is  declared  to  be  '  not  unworthy  the 
great  founder  of  the  American  republic.'  Such  a 
speech,  says  the  London  Times,  '  has  not  often  been 
heard  in  America — a  speech  entirely  free  from  tawdry 
ornament  or  ambitious  metaphor,  but  conveying  the 
firmest  determination  and  the  most  enlightened  prin 
ciples  in  the  plainest  and  simplest  language.'  And 
the  same  paper  says  in  another  article  :  '  There  i-s  a 
stamp  of  reality  and  proud  self-confidence  in  this 
appeal  to  the  sovereign  people,  which  obliterates  the 
effect  of  some  indiscreet  expressions,  and  makes  us 
feel  that  Mr.  Johnson  is  equal  to  guiding  the  destinies 
of  a  great  nation  through  a  perilous  crisis.  *  *  * 
No  hereditary  monarch,  nor  even  an  elective  emperor, 
inheriting  the  traditions  and  administrative  system  of 
an  hereditary  monarchy,  can  ever  be  placed  in  the 
same  position  as  President  Johnson,  and  it  is  to  be 
feared  that  few  princes  born  in  the  purple  would  be 
capable  of  facing  a  great  emergency  with  equal  cour 
age  and  dignity.'  Mr.  Johnson,  it  is  said,  'if  any 
man  ever  did,  occupies  nobly  and  worthily  a  great 
historic  position.  The  destinies  of  millions  of  the 
human  race  depend  upon  him,  and  he  rises  fully  to  the 
height  of  the  occasion.  Men  whose  nerves  are  shaken 
by  the  holiday  politics  of  such  a  country  as  ours  will 
stand  aghast  at  the  audacity  with  which  President 
Johnson  confronts  his  adversaries.'  Such  is  the  Eu 
ropean  verdict,  and  the  country  may  thus  see  that, 
viewed  from  a  proper  distance — a  distance  that  en- 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  263 

ables  one  to  take  in  its  full  proportions  and  relations 
to  the  state  of  the  country — tljg  President's  speech  is 
not  less  great  and  statesman-like  than  we  declared  it 
to  be  from  the  first." 


26  ir  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  CIVIL  EIGHTS  BILL. — THE  PRESIDENT'S  VETO. 

THE  veto  by  President  Johnson  of  tlie  "  Civil 
Bights  Bill,"  is  generally  acknowledged  as  one  of 
the  ablest  state  papers  ever  emanating  from  the 
Executive  Department.  It  shows  that  Mr.  John 
son  has  a  mind  at  once  logical  and  capable  of 
a  complete  comprehension  of  any  subject  before 
him.  The  veto  is  unanswerable,  and  though 
Senator  Trumbull,  of  Illinois,  undertook  a  reply 
to  it,  he  utterly  failed  in  demolishing  it,  and 
only  succeeded  in  advertising  the  inconsistency 
of  his  own  political  opinion.  "There,"  said  a 
Radical  to  a  Johnson  man,  "  read  Mr.  TrumbulTs 
speech"  (handing  him  a  copy),  "  and  see  how 
completely  Mr.  Johnson  is  answered."  "  Yes," 
replied  the  Johnson  man,  "  if  Mr.  Trumbull  has 
answered  Mr.  «lohnson,  he  has  also  demolished 
himself,  for  I  have  an  extract  from  a  speech  de 
livered  by  Mr.  T.  in  the  Senate,  on  the  12th  of 
December,  1850,  in  which  I  find  this  language  : 

"  'In  my  judgment,  there  is  a  distinction  between 
the  white  and  black  races,  made  by  Omnipotence 
itself.  1  do  not  believe  these  two  races  can  live 
happily  or  pleasantly  together,'  " 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  265 

This  extract  silenced  his  Radical  friend,  if  it 
did  not  convince  him  that  Mr.  Trumbull  was  like 
the  lawyer,  that  he  is  trying  to  make  the  worse 
appear  the  better  reason.  Mr.  Johnson's  veto  is 
so  able  and  statesmanlike  a  letter  that  I  make  no 
apology  in  presenting  it  to  my  readers  in  full. 
The  following  is  the  message  : 

To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  : 

I  regret  that  the  bill  which  has  passed  both  Houses 
of  Congress,  entitled  "  An  Act  to  protect  all  persons 
in  the  United  States  in  their  civil  rights,  and  furnish 
the  means  of  their  vindication,"  contains  provisions 
which  I  cannot  approve,  consistently  with  my  sense 
of  duty  to  the  whole  people,  and  my  obligations  to 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  I  am,  there 
fore,  constrained  to  return  it  to  the  Senate  (the 
House  in  which  it  originated)  with  my  objections  to 
its  becoming  a  law. 

By  the  first  section  of  the  bill,  all  persons  born  in 
the  United  States,  and  not  subject  to  any  foreign 
power,  excluding  Indians  not  taxed,  are  declared  to 
be  citizens  of  the  United  States.  This  provision  com 
prehends  the  Chinese  of  the  Pacific  States,  Indians 
subject  to  taxation,  the  people  called  Gipsies,  as  well 
as  the  entire  race  designated  as  blacks,  people  of 
color,  negroes,  mulattoes,  and  persons  of  African 
blood.  Every  individual  of  these  races,  born  in  the 
United  States,  is  by  the  bill  made  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States.  It  does  not  purport  to  declare  or  con 
fer  any  other  right  of  citizenship  than  Federal  citizen 
ship;  it  does  not  propose  to  give  these  classes  of  per 
sons  any  status  as  citizens  of  States,  except  that 


2CG  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

which  may  result  from  their  status  as  citizens  of  the 
United  States.  The  power  to  confer  the  right  of 
State  citizenship  is  just  as  exclusively  with  the 
several  States,  as  the  power  to  confer  the  right  of 
Federal  citizenship  is  with  Congress.  The  right  of 
Federal  citizenship,  thus  to  be  conferred  in  the  several 
excepted  ratios  before  mentioned,  is  now,  for  the  first 
time,  proposed  to  be  given  by  law.  If,  as  is  claimed 
by  many,  all  persons  who  are  native  born,  already 
are,  by  virtue  of  the  Constitution,  citizens  of  the  Uni 
ted  States,  the  passage  of  the  pending  bill  cannot  be 
necessary  to  make  them  such.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
such  persons  are  not  citizens,  as  may  be  assumed 
from  the  proposed  legislation  to  make  them  such,  the 
grave  question  presents  itself  whether,  where  eleven 
of  the  thirty-six  States  are  unrepresented  in  Congress 
at  the  time,  it  is  sound  policy  to  make  our  entire  col 
ored  population,  and  all  other  excepted  classes,  citi 
zens  of  the  United  States.  Four  millions  of  them 
have  just  emerged  from  slavery  into  freedom.  Can 
it  be  reasonably  supposed  that  they  possess  the  re 
quisite  qualifications  to  entitle  them  to  all  the  privi 
leges  and  immunities  of  citizenship  of  the  United 
States  ?  Have  the  people  of  the  several  States  ex 
pressed  such  a  conviction?  It  may  also  be  asked, 
whether  it  is  necessary  that  they  should  be  declared 
citizens  in  order  that  they  may  be  secured  in  the  en 
joyment  of  the  civil  rights  proposed  to  be  conferred 
by  the  bill  ?  Those  rights  are,  by  Federal  as  well  as 
by  State  laws,  secured  to  all  domiciled  aliens  and 
foreigners,  even  before  the  completion  of  the  process 
of  naturalization  ;  and  it  may  safely  be  assumed  that 
the  same  enactments  are  sufficient  to  give  like  protec- 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  267 

tiou  and  benefits  to  those  for  whom  this  bill  provides 
special  legislation.  Besides,  the  policy  of  the  Gov 
ernment,  from  its  origin  to  the  present  time,  seems  to 
have  been  that  persons  who  are  strangers  'to  and  un 
familiar  with  our  institutions  and  our  laws,  should 
pass  through  a  certain  probation;  at  the  end  of  which, 
before  attaining  the  coveted  prize,  they  must  give 
evidence  of  their  fitness  to  receive  and  to  exercise  the 
rights  of  citizens  as  contemplated  by  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.  The  bill  in  effect  proposes  a 
discrimination  against  large  numbers  of  intelligent, 
worthy  and  patriotic  foreigners,  and  in  favor  of  the 
negro,  to  whom,  after  long  years  of  bondage,  the  ave 
nues  to  freedom  and  intelligence  have  just  now  been 
suddenly  opened.  He  must  of  necessity,  from  his 
previous  unfortunate  condition  of  servitude,  be  less 
informed  as  to  the  nature  and  character  of  our  insti 
tutions  than  he  who*  coming  from  abroad,  has  to  some 
extent,  at  least,  familiarized  himself  with  the  princi 
ples  of  a  Government  to  which  he  voluntarily  intrusts 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  Yet  it  is 
now  proposed  by  a  single  legislative  enactment  to 
confer  the  rights  of  citizens  upon  all  persons  of  Afri 
can  descent,  born  within  the  extended  limits  of  the 
United  States,  while  persons  of  foreign  birth,  who 
make  our  land  their  home,  must  undergo  a  probation 
of  five  years,  and  can  only  then  become  citizens  upon 
proof  that  they  are  of  good  moral  character,  attached 
to  the  principles  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  well  disposed  to  the  good  order  and  hap 
piness  of  the  same.  The  first  section  of  the  bill  also 
contains  an  enumeration  of  the  rights  to  be  enjoyed 
by  those  classes  so  made  citizens  in  every  State  and 


268  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

Territory  of  the  United  States.  These  rights  are, 
to  make  and  enforce  contracts,  to  sue,  be  parties  and 
give  evidence,  to  inherit,  purchase,  lease,  sell,  hold, 
or  convoy  real  and  personal  property,  and  to  have  full 
and  equal  benefit  of  all  laws  and  proceeding's  for  the 
security  of  persons  and  property  as  is  enjoyed  by 
white  citizens.  So,  too,  the}7"  are  made  subject  to  the 
same  punishments,  pains,  and  penalties  common  with 
white  citizens,  and  to  none  others.  Thus  a  perfect 
equality  of  the  white  and  colored  races  is  attempted 
to  be  fixed  by  a  Federal  law  in  every  State  of  the 
Union,  over  the  vast  field  of  State  jurisdiction  covered 
by  these  enumerated  rights.  In  no  one  of  them  can 
any  State  exercise  any  power  of  discrimination  be 
tween  different  races.  In  the  exercise  of  State  policy 
over  matters  exclusively  affecting  the  people  of  each 
State,  it  has  frequently  been  thought  expedient  to 
discriminate  between  the  two  races.  By  the  statutes 
of  some  of  the  States,  North  as  well  as  South,  it  is 
enacted,  for  instance,  that  no  white  person  shall  inter 
marry  with  a  negro  or  mulatto.  Chancellor  Kent 
says,  speaking  of  the  blacks,  that  marriages  between 
them  and  the  whites  are  forbidden  in  some  of  the 
States  where  slavery  does  not  exist,  and  they  are  pro 
hibited  in  all  the  slavehulding  States  by  law  ;  and 
when  not  absolutely  contrary  to  law,  they  arc  revolt 
ing,  and  regarded  as  an  ofienco  against  public  de 
corum.  I  do  not  say  that  this  bill  repeals  State  laws, 
on  the  subject  of  marriage  between  the  two  races,  for 
as  the  whites  are  forbidden  to  intermarry  with  the 
blacks,  the  blacks  can  only  make  such  contracts  as 
the  whites  themselves  are  allowed  to  make,  and  there 
fore  cannot,  under  this  bill,  enter  into  the  marriage 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  269 

contract  with  the  whites.  I  take  this  discrimination, 
however,  as  an  instance  of  the  State  policy  as  to  dis 
crimination,  and  to  inquire  whether,  if  Congress  can 
abrogate  all  State  laws  of  discrimination  between  the 
two  races,  in  the  matter  of  real  estate,  of  suits,  and  of 
contracts  generally,  Congress  may  riot  also  repeal  the 
State  laws  as  to  the  contract  of  marriage  between  the 
races  ?  Hitherto,  every  subject  embraced  in  the 
enumeration  of  rights  contained  in  the  bill  has  been 
considered  as  exclusively  belonging  to  the  States;  they 
all  relate  to  the  internal  policy  and  economy  of  the 
respective  States.  They  are  matters  which,  in  each 
State,  concern  the  domestic  condition  of  its  people, 
varying  in  each  according  to  its  peculiar  circum 
stances  and  the  safety  and  well-being  of  its  own  citi 
zens.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  upon  all  these  sub 
jects  there  are  riot  Federal  restraints  ;  as,  for  instance, 
in  the  State  power  of  legislation  over  contracts,  there 
is  a  Federal  limitation  that  no  State  shall  pass  a  law 
impairing  the_  obligations  of  contracts  ;  and,  as  to 
crimes,  that  no  State  shall  pass  an  ex-post-facto  law  ; 
and,  as  to  money,  that  no  State  shall  make  any  thing 
but  gold  and  silver  a  legal  tender.  But  where  can  we 
find  a  Federal  prohibition  against  the  power  of  any 
State  to  discriminate,  as  do  most  of  them,  between 
aliens  and  citizens,  between  artificial  persons  called 
corporations,  and  naturalized  persons,  in  the  right  to 
hold  real  estate  ?  If  it  be  granted  that  Congress  can 
repeal  all  State  laws  discriminating  between  whites 
and  blacks,  in  the  subjects  covered  by  this  bill,  why, 
it  may  be  asked,  may  not  Congress  repeal,  in  the  same 
way,  all  State  laws  discriminating  between  the  two 
races  on  the  subject  of  suffrage  and  office  ?  If  Con- 


270  ANDREW    JOHNSON". 

gross  shall  declare  by  law  who  shall  hold  lauds,  who 
shall  tostif}r,  who  shall  have  capacity  to  make  a  con 
tract  in  a  State,  that  Congress  can  also  declare  by 
law  who,  without  regard  to  race  or  color,  shall  have 
the  right  to  act  as  a  juror  or  as  a  judge,  to  hold  any 
office,  and  finally  to  vote,  in  every  State  and  Terri 
tory  of  the  United  States.  As  respects  the  Terri 
tories,  they  come  within  the  power  of  Congress,  for 
as  to  them  the  law-making  power  is  the  Federal 
power  ;  but  as  to  the  States,  no  similar  provision 
exists,  vesting  in  Congress  the  power  to  make  rules 
and  regulations  for  them. 

"The  object  of  the  second  section  of  the  bill  is  to 
afford  discriminating  protection  to  colored  persons  in 
the  full  enjoyment  of  all  the  rights  secured  to  them  by 
the  preceding  section.  It  declares  that  '  any  person 
who,  under  color  of  any  law,  statute,  ordinance,  regu 
lation,  or  custom,  shall  subject  or  cause  to  be  subjected 
any  inhabitant  of  any  State  or  Territory  to  the  depriva 
tion  of  any  right  secured  or  protected  by  this  act,  or 
to  different  punishment,  pains,  or  penalties  on  account 
of  such  person  having  at  any  time  been  held  in  a  con 
dition  of  slavery  or  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a 
punishment  of  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have 
been  duly  convicted,  or  by  reason  of  his  color  or  race, 
than  is  prescribed  for  the  punishment  of  white  persons, 
shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  on  con 
viction  shall  be  punished  by  fine  not  exceeding  one 
thousand  dollars,  or  imprisonment  not  exceeding  one 
year,  or  both,  in  the  discretion  of  the  court.'  This  sec 
tion  seems  to  bo  designed  to  apply  to  some  existing 
or  future  law  of  a  State  or  Territory,  which  may  con 
flict  with  the  provisions  of  the  bill  now  under  consid- 


SEE  VICES   AND    SPEECHES.  271 

eration.  It  provides  for  counteracting  such  forbidden 
legislation,  by  imposing'  fine  and  imprisonment  upon 
the  legislators  who  may  pass  such  conflicting  laws,  or 
upon  the  officers  or  agent!  who  shall  put  or  attempt 
to  put  them  into  execution.  It  means  an  official  of 
fence,  not  a  common  crime,  committed  against  law 
upon  the  person  or  property  of  the  black  race.  Such 
an  act  may  deprive  the  black  man  of  his  property,  but 
not  of  his  right  to  hold  property.  It  means  a  depri 
vation  of  the  right  itself,  either  by  the  State  Judiciary 
or  the  State.  Legislature.  It  is,  therefore,  assumed 
that,  under  this  section,  members  of  a  State  Legisla 
ture  who  should  vote  for  laws  conflicting  with  the 
provisions  of  the  bill,  that  judges  of  the  State  courts 
who  should  render  judgments  in  antagonism  with  its 
terms,  and  that  marshals  and  sheriffs  who  should  as 
ministerial  officers  execute  processes  sanctioned  by 
State  laws  and  issued  by  State  judges  in  execution 
of  their  judgments,  could  be  brought  before  other  tri 
bunals  and  there  subjected  to  fine  and  imprisonment, 
for  the  performance  of  the  duties  which  such  State 
laws  might  impose.  The  legislation  thus  proposed 
invades  the  judicial  power  of  the  State.  It  says  to 
every  State  court  or  judge  :  If  you  decide  that  this  act 
is  unconstitutional ;  if  you  hold  that  over  such  a  sub 
ject-matter  the  said  law  is  paramount,  under  color  of 
a  State  law  refuse  the  exercise  of  the  right  to  the 
negro;  your  error  of  judgment,  however  conscientious, 
shall  subject  you  to  fine  and  imprisonment.  I  do  not 
apprehend  that  the  conflicting  legislation  which  the 
bill  seems  to  contemplate  is  so  likely  to  occur,  as  to 
render  it  necessary  at  this  time  to  adopt  a  measure  of 
such  constitutionality.  In  the  next  place,  this  pro- 


ANDREW    JOHNSON". 

vision  uf  the  bill  seems  to  be  unnecessary,  as  adequate 
judicial  remedies  could  be  adopted  to  secure  the  de 
sired  end  without  invading1  the  immunities  of  legisla 
tors,  always  important  to  b&  preserved  in  the  interest 
of  public  liberty,  notwithstanding  the  independence 
of  the  judiciary,  always  essential  to  the  preservation 
of  individual  rights,  and  without  impairing  the  effi 
ciency  of  ministerial  officers,  always  necessary  for  the 
maintenance  of  public  peace  and  order.  The  remedy 
proposed  by  this  section  seems  to  be  in  this  respect 
not  only  anomalous  but  unconstitutional,  for  the  Consti 
tution  guarantees  nothing  with  certainty  if  it  does  not 
insure  to  the  several  States  the  right  of  making  index 
ruling  laws  in  regard  to  all  matters  arising  within 
their  jurisdiction,  subject  only  to  the  restriction,  in 
cases  of  conllict  with  the  Constitution  and  constitu 
tional  laws  of  the  United  States — the  latter  to  be  held 
as  the  supreme  law  of  the  land. 

"  The  third  .section  gives  the  district  courts  of  the 
United  States  exclusive  cognizance  of  all  crimes  and 
offences  committed  against  the  provisions  of  this  act, 
and  concurrent  jurisdiction  with  the  circuit  courts  of 
the  United  States,  of  all  civil  and  criminal  cases  affect 
ing  persons  that  are  denied,  or  cannot  enforce  in  the 
courts  or  judicial  tribunals  of  the  State  or  locality 
where  they  may  be,  any  of  the  rights  secured  to  them 
by  the  first  section.  The  construction  which  I  have 
given  to  the  second  section  is  strengthened  by  this, 
third  section,  for  it  makes  clear  wThat  kind  of  denial, 
or  deprivation  of  rights  secured  by  the  iirst  section, 
was  in  contemplation.  It  is  a  denial  or  deprivation 
of  such  rights  in  the  courts  or  judicial  tribunals  of  the 
State.  It  stands,  therefore,  clear  of  doubt  that  the 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  273 

offence  and  the  penalties  provided  in  the  second  sec 
tion  are  intended  for  the  State  judge  who,  in  the  clear 
exercise  of  his  functions  as  a  judge,  not  acting  minis 
terially  but  judicially,  shall  decide  contrary  to  this 
Federal  law.  In  other  words,  when  a  State  judge, 
acting  upon  a  question  involving  a  conflict  between  a 
State  law  arid  a  Federal  law,  and  bound,  according 
to  his  own  judgment  arid  responsibility  to  give  an 
impartial  decision  between  the  two,  comes  to  the  con 
clusion  that  the  State  law  is  valid  and  the  Federal  law 
is  invalid,  he  must  not  follow  the  dictates  of  his  own 
judgment,  at  the  peril  of  fine  and  imprisonment.  The 
legislative  department  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  thus  takes  from  the  judicial  department  of  the 
States  the  sacred  and  exclusive  duty  of  judicial  de 
cision,  and  converts  the  State  judge  into  a  mere  min 
isterial  officer,  bound  to  decide  according  to  the  will 
of  Congress.  It  is  clear  that  in  States  which  deny  to 
persons,  whose  rights  are  secured  by  the  first  section 
of  the  bill,  any  one  of  those  rights,  all  criminal  and 
civil  cases  affecting  them  will,  by  the  provisions  of 
the  third  section,  come  under  the  executive  cognizance 
of  the  Federal  tribunals.  It  follows  that  if  in  any 
State,  which  denies  to  a  colored  person  any  one  of 
all  these  rights,  that  person  should  commit  a  crime 
against  the  laws  of  a  State — murder,  arson,  rape, 
or  any  other  crime — all  protection  and  punishment, 
through  the  courts  of  the  State,  are  taken  away,  and 
he  can  only  be  tried  and  punished  in  the  Federal 
courts.  How  is  the  criminal  to  be  tried,  if  the  offence 
is  provided  for  and  punished  by  Federal  law  ?  That 
law,  and  not  the  State  law,  is  to  govern.  It  was  only 
when  the  offence  does  not  happen  to  be  within  the 
12* 


274:  ANDREW    JOHNSON". 

province  of  Federal  law  that  the  Federal  courts  are  to 
try  and  punish  him  under  any  other  law.  The  resort 
is  to  be  had  to  the  common  law,  as  modified  and 
changed  by  State  legislation,  so  far  as  the  same  is  not 
inconsistent  with  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the 
United  States.  So  that  over  this  vast  domain  of 
criminal  jurisprudence,  provided  by  each  State  for  the 
protection  of  its  citizens  and  for  the  punishment  of  all 
persons  who  violate  its  criminal  laws,  Federal  law, 
wherever  it  can  be  made  to  apply,  displaces  State  law. 
The  question  naturally  arises,  from  what  source  Con 
gress  derives  the  power  to  transfer  to  Federal  tribu 
nals  certain  classes  of  cases  embraced  in  this  section. 
The  Constitution  expressly  declares  that  the  judicial 
power  of  the  United  States  '  shall  extend  to  all  cases 
in  law  and  equity,  arising  under  this  Constitution,  the 
laws  of  the  United  States,  and  treaties  made,  or  which 
shall  be  made,  under  their  authority;  to  all  cases  affect 
ing  ambassadors  or  other  public  ministers  and  consuls; 
to  all  cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime  jurisdiction;  to 
controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a 
party;  to  controversies  between  two  or  more  States; 
between  a  State  and  citizens  of  another  State  ;  be 
tween  citizens  of  different  States;  between  citizens  of 
the  same  State  claiming  land  under  grants  of  differ 
ent  States;  and  between  a  State,  or  the  citizens  thereof, 
and  foreign  States,  citizens,  or  subjects.' 

"  Here  the  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  is 
expressly  set  forth  and  defined  ;  and  the  act  of  Sep 
tember  24,  1789,  establishing  the  judicial  courts  of 
the  United  States,  in  conferring  upon  the  Federal 
courts  jurisdiction  over  cases  originating  in  State  tri 
bunals,  is  careful  to  confine  them  to  the  classes 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  275 

enumerated  in  the  above  recited  clause  of  the  Consti 
tution.  This  section  of  the  bill^undoubtedly  compre 
hends  cases  and  authorizes  the  exercise  of  powers 
that  are  not,  by  the  Constitution,  within  the  jurisdic 
tion  of  the  courts  of  the  United  States.  To  transfer 
them  to  these  courts  would  be  an  exercise  of  author 
ity  well  calculated  to  excite  distrust 'and  alarm  on 
the  part  of  all  the  States,  for  the  bill  applies  alike  to 
all  of  them,  as  well  as  to  those  who  have  not  been 
engaged  in  rebellion.  It  may  be  assumed  that  this 
authority  is  incident  to  the  power  granted  to  Con 
gress  by  the  Constitution  as  recently  amended,  to  en 
force,  by  appropriate  legislation,  the  article  declaring 
that  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except 
as  a  punishment  for  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall 
have  been  duly  convicted,  shall  exist  within  the 
United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdic 
tion.  It  cannot,  however,  be  justly  claimed  that, 
with  a  view  to  the  enforcement  of  this  article  of  the 
Constitution,  there  is  at  present  any  necessity  for  the 
exercise  of  all  the  powers  which  this  bill  confers. 
Slavery  has  been  abolished,  and  at  present  nowhere 
exists  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States. 
Nor  has  there  been,  nor  is  it  likely  there  will  be  any 
attempts  to  revive  it  by  the  people  of  the  States.  If, 
however,  any  such  attempt  shall  be  made,  it  will  then 
become  the  duty  of  the  General  Government  to  exer 
cise  any  and  all  incidental  powers  necessary  and 
proper  to  maintain  inviolate  this  great  law  of  free 
dom.  The  fourth  section  of  the  bill  provides  that 
officers  and  agents  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau  shall  be 
empowered  to  make  arrests,  and  also  that  other 
officers  shall  be  specially  commissioned  for  that  pur- 


276  AXDKEW 


pose  by  the  President  of  the  United  States.  It  also 
authorizes  the  Circuit  Courts  of  the  United  States  and 
the  Superior  Courts  of  the  Territories  to  appoint, 
without  limitation,  commissioners,  \vho  are  to  be 
charged  with  the  performance  of  quasi  judicial  duties. 
The  fifth  section  empowers  the  commissioners  so  to  be 
selected  by  the  court,  to  appoint,  in  writing,  one  or 
more  suitable  persons  from  time  to  time  to  execute 
warrants  and  processes  desirable  by  the  bill.  These 
numerous  official  agents  are  made  to  constitute  a  sort 
of  police  in  addition  to  the  military,  and  are  author 
ized  to  summon  a  posse  commitatus,  and  even  to  call 
to  their  aid  such  portion  of  the  land  and  naval  forces 
of  the  United  States,  or  of  the  militia,  '  as  may  be 
necessary  to  the  performance  of  the  duty  with  which 
they  are  charged.'  This  extraordinary  power  is  to  be 
conferred  upon  agents  irresponsible  to  the  Govern 
ment  and  to  the  people,  to  whose  number  the  discre 
tion  of  the  commissioners  is  the  only  limit,  and  in 
whose  hands  such  authority  might  be  made  a  terrible 
engine  of  wrong,  oppression,  and  fraud.  The  general 
statutes  regulating  the  land  and  naval  forces  of  the 
United  States,  the  militia,  and  the  -execution  of  the 
laws  are  believed  to  be  adequate  for  any  emergency 
which  can  occur  in  time  of  peace.  If  it  should  prove 
otherwise,  Congress  can  at  any  time  amend  those 
laws  in  such  a  manner  as,  while  subserving  the  pub 
lic  welfare,  not  to  jeopard  the  rights,  interests,  and 
liberties  of  the  people. 

"The  seventh  section  provides  that  a  fee  of  ten 
dollars  shall  be  paid  to  each  commissioner  in  every 
ease  brought  before  him,  and  a  fee  of  five  dollars  to 
his  deputy  or  deputies  for  each  person  he  or  they  may 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  277 

arrest  and  take  before  any  such  commissioner  in  gen 
eral  for  performing  such  other  duties  as  may  be  re 
quired  in  the  premises.  All  these  foes  are  to  be  paid 
out  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  whether 
there  is  a  conviction  or  not ;  but  in  case  of  con 
viction  they  are  to  be  recoverable  from  the  de 
fendant.  It  seems  to  me  that  under  the  influence 
of  such  temptations,  bad  men  might  convert  any 
law,  however  beneficent,  into  an  instrument  of 
persecution  and  fraud.  By  the  eighth  section  of 
the  bill,  the  United  States  Courts,  which  sit  only 
in  one  place  for  white  citizens,  must  migrate  with 
the  marshal  and  district  attorney,  and  necessarily 
with  the  clerk  (although  he  is  not  mentioned), 
to  any  part  of  the  district,  upon  the  order  of  the 
President,  and  there  hold  a  court  for  the  purpose  of 
the  more  speedy  arrest  and  trial  of  persons  charged 
with  the  violation  of  this  act  ;  and  there  the  judge 
and  officers  of  the  court  must  remain,  upon  the  order 
of  the  President,  for  the  time  therein  designated. 

"  The  ninth  section  authorizes  the  President,  or 
such  person  as  he  may  empower  for  that  purpose,  to 
employ  such  part  of  the  land  or  naval  forces  of  the 
United  States,  or  of  the  militia,  as  shall  be  necessary 
to  prevent  the  violation  and  enforce  the  due  execu 
tion  of  this  act.  This  language  seems  to  imply  a 
permanent  military  force  that  is  to  be  always  at  hand, 
and  whose  only  business  is  to  be  the  enforcement  of 
this  measure  over  the  vast  region  where  it  intended 
to  operate. 

"  I  do  not  propose  to  consider  the  policy  of  this 
bill.  To  me  the  details  of  the  bill  are  fraught  with 
evil.  The  white  race  and  black  race  of  the  South 


278  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

havo  hitherto  lived  tog-ether  under  the  relation  of 
master  and  slave — capital  owning  labor.  Now  that 
relation  is  changed  ;  and  as  to  ownership,  capital  and 
labor  are  divorced.  They  stand  now,  each  master  of 
itself.  In  this  new  relation,  one  being,  necessary  to 
the  other,  there  will  be  a  new  adjustment,  which  both 
are  deeply  interested  in  making  harmonious.  Each 
has  equal  power  in  settling  the  terms  ;  and,  if  left  to 
the  laws  that  regulate  capital  and  labor,  it  is  confi 
dently  believed  that  they  will  satisfactorily  work  out 
the  problem.  Capital,  it  is  true,  has  more  intelli 
gence  ;  but  labor  is  never  so  ignorant  as  riot  to  un 
derstand  its  own  interests,  not  to  know  its  own  value, 
and  not  to  see  that  capital  must  pay  that  value.  This 
bill  frustrates  this  adjustment.  It  intervenes  between 
capital  and  labor,  and  attempts  to  settle  questions  of 
political  economy  through  the  agency  of  numerous 
officials,  whose  interest  it  will  be  to  foment  discord 
between  the  two  races  ;  for  as  the  breach  widens, 
their  employment  will  continue  ;  and  when  it  is 
closed,  their  occupation  will  terminate.  In  all  our 
history,  in  all  our  experience  as  a  people  living  under 
Federal  and  State  law,  no  such  system  as  that  con 
templated  by  the  details  of  this  bill  has  ever  before 
been  proposed  or  adopted.  They  establish  for  the 
security  of  the  colored  race  safeguards  which  go  in 
definitely  beyond  any  that  the  General  Government 
has  ever  provided  for  the  white  race.  In  fact,  the 
distinction  of  race;  and  color  is  by  the  bill  made  to 
operate  in  favor  of  the  colored  and  against  the  white 
race.  They  interfere  with  the  municipal  legislation 
of  the  States  ;  with  relations  existing  exclusively  be 
tween  a  State  audits  citizens,  or  between  inhabitants 


SERVICES  AND   SPEECHES.  279 

of  the  same  State;  an  absorption  and  assumption  of 
power  by  the  General  Government  which,  if  acqui 
esced  in,  must  sap  and  destroy  our  federative  system 
of  limited  power,  and  break  down  the  barriers  which 
preserve  the  rights  of  the  States.  It  is  another  step, 
or  rather  stride,  towards  centralization  and  the  concen 
tration  of  all  legislative  powers  in  the  National  Gov 
ernment.  The  tendency  of  the  bill  must  be  to  resus 
citate  the  spirit  of  rebellion,  and  to  arrest  the  pro 
gress  of  those  influences  which  are  more  closely 
drawing  around  the  States  the  bonds  of  union  and 
peace. 

"  My  lamented  predecessor,  in  his  proclamation  of 
the  1st  of  January,  1863,  ordered  and  declared  that 
all  persons  held  as  slaves  within  certain  States  and 
parts  of  States  therein  designated,  were,  and  thence 
forward  should  be  free  ;  and  further,  that  the  Execu 
tive  Government  of  the  United  States,  including  the 
military  and  naval  authorities  thereof,  would  recog 
nize  and  maintain  the  freedom  of  such  persons.  This 
guaranty  has  been  rendered  especially  obligatory  and 
sacred  by  the  amendment  of  the  Constitution  abolish 
ing  slavery  throughout  the  United  States.  I,  there 
fore,  fully  recognize  the  obligation  to  protect  and 
defend  that  class  of  our  people  whenever  and  where- 
ever  it  shall  become  necessary,  and  to  the  full  extent, 
compatible  with  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 
Entertaining  these  sentiments,  it  only  remains  for  me 
to  say  that  I  will  cheerfully  co-operate  with  Congress 
in  any  measure  that  may  be  necessary  for  the  preser 
vation  of  civil  rights  of  the  freedmen,  as  well  as  those 
of  all  other  classes  of  persons  throughout  the  United 
States,  by  judicial  process  under  equal  and  impartial 


280  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

laws,  or  conformably  with  the  provisions  of  the  Fed 
eral  Constitution. 

"  I  now  return  the  bill  to  the  Senate,  and  regret 
that  in  considering*  the  bills  and  joint  resolutions, 
forty-two  in  number,  which  have  been  thus  far  sub 
mitted  for  my  approval,  I  am  compelled  to  withhold 
my  assent  from  a  second  measure  that  has  received 
the  sanction  of  both  Houses  of  Congress. 

"  ANDREW  JOHNSON. 

"  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  March  27,  1866." 


SEKViCES   AXL>   SPEECHES.  281 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

X 

ANNUAL  MESSAGE   TO   THE   THIRTY-NINTH   CONGRESS. 

"  Felloiv-citizens  of  the  Senate  and   House  of  Repre 
sentatives  : 

"  To  express  gratitude  to  God,  in  the  name  of  the 
people,  for  the  preservation  of  the  United  States,  is 
rny  first  duty  in  addressing;  you.  Our  thoughts  next 
revert  to  the  death  of  the  late  President  by  an  act  of 
parricidal  treason.  The  grief  of  the  nation  is  still 
fresh  ;  it  finds  some  solace  in  the  consideration  that 
he  lived  to  enjoy  the  highest  proof  of  its  confidence  by 
entering  on  the  renewed  term  of  the  Chief  Magis 
tracy,  to  which  he  had  been  elected  ;  that  he  brought 
the  civil  war  substantially  to  a  close  ;  that  his  loss 
was  deplored  in  all  parts  of  the  Union  ;  and  that 
foreign  nations  have  rendered  justfce  to  his  memory. 
His  removal  cast  upon  me  a  heavier  weight  of  cares 
than  ever  devolved  upon  any  one  of  his  predecessors. 
To  fulfil  my  trust  I  need  the  support  and  confidence 
of  all  who  are  associated  with  me  in  the  various  de 
partments  of  the  Government,  and  support  and  con 
fidence  of  the  people.  There  is  but  one  way  in 
which  I  can  hope  to  gain  their  necessary  aid  ;  it  is, 
to  state  with  frankness  the  principles  which  guide  my 
conduct,  and  their  application  to  the  present  state  of 


282  ANDREW   JOHNSON". 

affairs,  well  aware  that  the  efficiency  of  niv  labors 
will,  in  a  great  measure,  dcp-^id  on  your  and  their 
undivided  approbation. 

"  The  Union  of  the  United  States  of  America  was 
intended  by  its  authors  to  last  as  long  as  the  States 
themselves  shall  last.  '  THE  UNION  SHALL  BE  PER 
PETUAL,'  are  the  words  of  the  Confederation.  '  To  FORV 
A  MORE  PERFECT  UNION,'  by  an  ordinance  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  is  the  declared  purpose  of  the 
Constitution.  The  hand  of  Divine  Providence  was 
never  more  plainly  visible  in  the  affairs  of  men  than 
in  the  framing  and  the  adopting  of  that  instrument. 
It  is,  beyond  comparison,  the  greatest  event  in  Ameri 
can  history  ;  and  indeed  is  it  not,  of  all  events  in 
modern  times,  the  most  pregnant  with  consequences 
for  every  people  of  the  earth  ?  The  members  of  the 
Convention  which  prepared  it,  brought  to  their  work 
the  experience  of  the  Confederation,  of  their  several 
States,  and  of  other  republican  governments,  old  and 
new  ;  but  they  needed  and  they  obtained  a  wisdom 
superior  to  experience.  And  when  for  its  validity  it 
required  the  approval  of  a  people  that  occupied  a 
large  part  of  a  continent  and  acted  separately  in 
many  distinct  conventions,  what  is  more  wonderful 
than  that,  after  earnest  contention  and  long  discussion, 
all  feelings  and  all  opinions  were  ultimately  drawn  in 
one  way  to  its  support? 

"  The  Constitution  to  which  life  was  thus  imparted 
contains  within  itself  ample  resources  for  its  own  pres 
ervation.  It  lias  power  to  enforce  the  laws,  punish 
treason,  and  insure  domestic  tranquillity.  In  case  of 
th«'  usurpation  of  the  Government  of  a  State  by  one 
man,  «»r  an  oligarchy,  it  becomes  a  duty  of  the  United 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES  283 

States  to  make  good  the  guaranty  to  that  State  of  a 
republican  form  of  government,  and  so  to  maintain 
the  homogeneousness  of  all.  Does  the  lapse  of  time 
reveal  defects  ?  A  simple  mode  of  amendment  is  pro 
vided  in  the  Constitution  itself,  so  that  its  conditions 
can  always  be  made  to  conform  to  the  requirements 
of  advancing  civilization.  No  room  is  allowed  even 
for  the  thought  of  a  possibility  of  its  coming  to  an 
end.  And  these  powers  of  self-preservation  have  al 
ways  been  asserted  in  their  complete  integrity  by 
every  patriotic  Chief  Magistrate — by  Jefferson  and 
Jackson,  not  less  than  by  Washington  and  Madison. 
The  parting  advice  of  the  Father  of  his  Country,  while 
yet  President,  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  was, 
that  '  the  free  Constitution,  which  was  the  work  of 
their  hands,  might  be  sacredly  maintained  ;'  and  the 
inaugural  words  of  President  Jefferson  held  up  '  the 
preservation  of  the  General  Government,  in  its  con 
stitutional  vigor,  as  the  sheet  anchor  of  our  peace  at 
home  and  safety  abroad.'  The  Constitution  is  the 
work  of  '  the  People  of  the  United  States/  and  it 
should  be  as  indestructible  as  the  people. 

"It  is  not  strange  that  the  framers  of  the  Constitu 
tion,  which  had  no  model  in  the  past,  should  not  have 
fully  comprehended  the  excellence  of  their  own  work. 
Fresh  from  a  struggle  against  arbitrary  power, 
many  patriots  suffered  from  harassing  fears  of  an 
absorption  of  the  Stata  Governments  by  the  General 
Government,  and  many  from  a  dread  that  the  States 
would"  break  away  from  their  orbits.  But  the  very 
greatness  of  our  country  should  allay  the  apprehen 
sion  of  encroachments  by  the  General  Government. 
The  subjects  that  come  unquestionably .  within  its 


284:  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

jurisdiction  are  so  numerous,  that  it  must  ever  nat 
urally  refuse  to  be  embarrassed  by  questions  that  Ho 
beyond  it.  Were  it  otherwise,  the  Executive  would 
sink  beneath  the  burden  5  the  channels  of  justice 
would  be  choked  ;  legislation  would  be  obstructed 
by  excess  ;  so  that  there  is  a  greater  temptation  to 
exercise  some  of  the  functions  of  the  General  Govern 
ment  through  the  States  than  to  trespass  on  their 
rightful  sphere.  '  The  absolute  acquiescence  in  the 
decisions  of  the  majority'  was,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  century,  enforced  by  Jefferson  '  as  the  vital  prin 
ciple  of  republics/  and  the  events  of  the  last  four 
years  have  established,  we  will  hope  forever,  that 
there  lies  no  appeal  to  force. 

"  The  maintenance  of  the  Union  brings  with  it 
'the  support  of  the  State  Governments  in  all  their 
rights  ;'  but  it  is  not  one  of  the  rights  of  any  State 
Government  to  renounce  its  own  place  in  the  Union, 
or  to  nullify  the  laws  of  the  Union.  The  largest 
liberty  is  to  be  maintained  in  the  discussion  of  the 
acts  of  the  Federal  Government  ;  but  there  is  no  ap 
peal  from  its  laws,  except  to  the  various  branches  of 
that  Government  itself,  or  to  the  people,  who  grant 
to  the  members  of  the  Legislative  and  of  the  Exe 
cutive  Departments  no  tenure  but  a  limited  one,  and 
in  that  manner  always  retain  the  powers  of  redress. 

'"The  sovereignty  of  the  States' is  the  language 
of  the  Confederacy,  and  not  the  language  of  the  Con 
stitution.  The  latter  contains  the  emphatic  words  : 
'  The  Constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
which  shall  be  made  in  pursuance  thereof,  and  all 
treaties  made  or  which  shall  ho  made  under  the  au 
thority  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme 


SERVICES    AND   SPEECHES.  285 

law  of  the  land  ;  and  the  judges  in  every  State  shall 
be  bound  thereby,  any  thing  in  the  constitution  or 
laws  of  any  State  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.1 

"  Certainly  the  Government  of  the  United  States  is 
a  limited  government ;  and  so  is  every  State  govern 
ment  a  limited  government.  With  us,  this  idea  of 
limitation  spreads  through  every  form  of  administra 
tion,  general,  State,  and  municipal,  and  rests  on  the 
great  distinguishing  principle  of  the  recognition  of 
the  rights  of  man.  The  ancient  republics  absorbed 
the  individual  in  the  State,  prescribed  his  religion, 
and  controlled  his  activity.  The  American  system 
rests  on  the  assertion  of  the  equal  right  of  every  man 
to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  ;  to  free 
dom  of  conscience,  to  the  culture  and  exercise  of  all 
his  faculties.  As  a  consequence,  the  State  Govern 
ment  is  limited,  as  to  the  General  Government  in  the 
interest  of  the  Union,  as  to  the  individual  citizen  in 
the  interest  of  freedom. 

"  States,  with  proper  limitations  of  power,  are  es~ 
sential  to  the  existence  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  At  the  very  commencement,  when  we 
assumed  a  place  among  the  powers  of  the  earth,  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  adopted  by  States  ; 
so  also  were  the  Articles  of  Confederation  ;  and  when 
1  the  People  of  the  United  States'  ordained  and  es 
tablished  the  Constitution,  it  was  the  assent  of  the 
States,  one  by  one,  which  gave  it  vitality.  In  the 
event,  too,  of  any  amendment  to  the  Constitution,  the 
proposition  of  Congress  needs  the  confirmation  of 
States.  Without  States,  one  great  branch  of  the 
legislative  government  would  be  wanting.  And,  if 
we  look  beyond  the  letter  of  the  Constitution  to  the 


286  ANDREW    JOHXbOX. 

character  of  our  country,  its  capacity  for  comprehend 
ing  within  its  jurisdiction  a  vast  continental  empire  is 
due  to  the  system  of  States.  The  best  security  for  the 
perpetual  existence  of  the  States  is  the  '  supreme  au 
thority'  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The 
perpetuity  of  the  Constitution  brings  with  it  the  per 
petuity  of  the  States  ;  their  mutual  relation  makes  us 
what  we  are,  and  in  our  political  system  their  con 
nection  is  indissoluble.  The  whole  cannot  exist  with 
out  the  parts,  nor  the  parts  without  the  whole.  So 
long  as  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  endures, 
the  States  will  endure  :  the  destruction  of  the  one  is 
the  destruction  of  the  other  ;  the  preservation  of  the 
one  is  the  preservation  of  the  other. 

"  I  have  thus  explained  my  views  of  the  mutual  rela 
tions  of  the  Constitution  and  the  States,  because  they 
unfold  the  principles  on  which  I  have  sought  to  solve 
the  momentous  questions  and  overcome  the  appal i ing 
difficulties  that  met  me  at  the  very  commencement  of 
my  administration.  It  has  been  my  steadfast  object 
to  escape  from  the  sway  of  momentary  passions,  and 
to  derive  a  healing  policy  from  the  fundamental  and 
unchanging  principles  of  the  Constitution. 

"  I  found  the  States  suffering  from  the  effects  of  a 
civil  war.  Resistance  to  the  General  Government 
appeared  to  have  exhausted  itself.  The  United  States 
had  recovered  possession  of  their  forts  and  arsenals  ; 
and  their  armies  were  in  the  occupation  of  every  State 
which  had  attempted  to  secede.  Whether  the  terri 
tory  within  the  limits  of  those  States  should  be  held 
as  conquered  territory,  under  military  authority  ema 
nating  from  the  President  as  the  head  of  the  army,  was 
the  first  question  that  presented  itself  for  decision. 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  287 

"  Now,  military  governments,  established  for  an  in 
definite  period,  would  have  offered  no  security  for  the 
early  suppression  of  discontent  ;  would  have  divided 
the  people  into  the  vanquishers  and  the  vanquished  ; 
and  would  have  envenomed  hatred,  rather  than  have 
restored  affection.  Once  established,  no  precise  limit 
to  their  continuance  was  conceivable.  They  would 
have  occasioned  an  incalculable  and  exhausting  ex 
pense.  Peaceful  emigration  to  and  from  that  portion 
of  the  country  is  one  of  the  best  means  that  can  be 
thought  of  for  the  restoration  of  harmony  ;  and  that 
emigration  would  have  been  prevented  ;  for  what 
emigrant  from  abroad,  what  industrious  citizen  at 
home,  would  place  himself  willingly  under  military 
rule  ?  The  chief  persons  who  would  have  followed  in 
the  train  of  the  army  would  have  been  dependents  on 
the  General  Government,  or  men  who  expected  profit 
from  the  miseries  of  their  erring  fellow-citizens.  The 
powers  of  patronage  and  rule  which  would  have  been 
exercised,  under  the  President,  over  a  vast,  and  popu 
lous,  and  naturally  wealthy  region,  are  greater  than, 
unless  under  extreme  necessity,  I  should  be  willing 
to  intrust  to  any  one  man  ;  they  are  such  as,  for  my 
self,  I  could  never,  unless  on  occasions  of  great  emer 
gency,  consent  to  exercise.  The  wilful  use  of  such 
powers,  if  continued  through  a  period  of  years,  would 
have  endangered  the  purity  of  the  general  adminis 
tration  and  the  liberties  of  the  States  which  remained 
loyal. 

"  Besides,  the  policy  of  military  rule  over  a  conquered 
territory  would  have  implied  that  the  States  whose 
inhabitants  may  have  taken  part  in  the  rebellion  had, 
by  the  act  of  those  inhabitants,  ceased  to  exist.  But 


2SS  ANDIU-:\V  JOHXSOX. 

the  true  theory  is,  that  all  pretended  acts  of  secession 
were,  from  the  beginning,  null  and  void.  The  States 
cannot  commit  treason,  nor  screen  the  individual  citi 
zens  who  may  have  committed  treason,  any  more  than 
they  can  make  valid  treaties  or  engage  in  lawful  com 
merce  with  any  foreign  power.  The  States  attempt 
ing  to  secede  placed  themselves  in  a  condition  where 
their  vitality  was  impaired,  but  not  extinguished — 
their  functions  suspended,  but  not  destroyed. 

"  But  if  any  State  neglects  or  refuses  to  perform  its 
offices,  there  is  the  more  need  that  the  General  Gov 
ernment  should  maintain  all  its  authority,  and,  as 
soon  as  practicable,  resume  the  exercise  of  all  its 
functions.  On  this  principle  I  have  acted,  and  have 
gradually  and  quietly,  and  by  almost  imperceptible 
steps,  sought  to  restore  the  rightful  energy  of  the 
General  Government  and  of  the  States.  To  that  end, 
Provisional  Governors  have  been  appointed  for  the 
States,  conventions  called,  Governors  elected,  Legis 
latures  assembled,  and  Senators  and  Representatives 
chosen  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  At  the 
same  time,  the  courts  of  the  United  States,  as  far  as 
could  be  done,  have  been  reopened,  so  that  the  laws 
of  the  United  States  may  be  enforced  through  their 
agency.  The  blockade  has  been  removed  and  the 
custom-houses  re-established  in  ports  of  entry,  so  that 
the  revenue  of  the  United  States  may  be  collected. 
The  Post-office  Department  renews  its  ceaseless 
activity,  and  the  General  Government  is  thereby 
enabled  to  communicate  promptly  with  its  officers 
and  agents.  The  courts  bring  security  to  persons 
and  property  ;  the  opening  of  the  ports  invites  the 
restoration  of  industry  and  commerce  ;  the  post-office 


SERVICES    AND   SPEECHES.  289 

renews  the  facilities  of  social  intercourse  and  of  busi 
ness.  And  is  it  not  happy  for  us  all,  that  the  restora 
tion  of  each  one  of  these  functions  of  the  General 
Government  brings  with  it  a  blessing  to  the  States 
over  which  they  are  extended  ?  Is  it  not  a  sure 
promise  of  harmony  and  renewed  attachment  to  the 
Union,  that,  after  all  that  has  happened,  the  return  of 
the  General  Government  is  known  only  as  a  benefi 
cence  ? 

"  I  know  very  well  that  this  policy  is  attended  with 
some  risk  ;  that  for  its  success  it  requires  at  least  the 
acquiescence  of  the  States  which  it  concerns  ;  that  it 
implies  an  invitation  to  those  States,  by  renewing 
their  allegiance  to  the  United  States,  to  resume  their 
functions  as  States  of  the  Union.  But  it  is  a  risk  that 
must  be  taken  ;  in  the  choice  of  difficulties,  it  is  the 
smallest  risk  ;  and  to  diminish,  and,  if  possible,  to 
remove  all  danger,  I  have  felt  it  encumbent  on  me  to 
assert  one  other  power  of  the  General  Government — 
the  power  of  pardon.  As  no  State  can  throw  a  de 
fence  over  the  crime  of  treason,  the  power  of  pardon 
is  exclusively  vested  in  the  Executive  Government  of 
the  United  States.  In  exercising  that  power,  I  have 
taken  every  precaution  to  connect  it  with  the  clearest 
recognition  of  the  binding  force  of  the  laws  of  the 
United  States,  and  an  unqualified  acknowledgment  of 
the  great  social  change  of  condition  in  regard  to 
slavery  which  has  grown  out  of  the  war. 

"  The  next  step  which  I  have  taken  to  restore  the 
constitutional  relations  of  the  States,  has  been  an 
invitation  to  them  to  participate  in  the  high  office  of 
amending  the  Constitution.  Every  patriot  must  wish 
for  a  general  amnesty  at  the  earliest  epoch  consistent 
13 


200  ANDREW   JOIIXSON. 

with  public  safety.  For  this  great  end  there  is  need 
of  a  concurrence  of  all  opinions,  and  the  spirit  of 
mutual  conciliation.  All  parties  in  the  late  terrible 
conflict  must  work  together  in  harmony.  It  is  not 
too  much  to  ask,  in  the  name  of  the  whole  people, 
that,  on  the  one  side,  the  plan  of  restoration  shall 
proceed  in  conformity  with  a  willing-ness  to  east  the 
disorders  of  the  past  into  oblivion  ;  and  that,  on  the 
other,  the  evidence  of  sincerity  in  the  future  mainte 
nance  of  the  Union  shall  be  put  beyond  any  doubt  by 
the  ratification  of  the  proposed  amendment  to  the  Con 
stitution,  which  provides  for  the  abolition  of  slavery 
forever  within  the  limits  of  our  country.  So  long  as 
the  adoption  of  tins  amendment  is  delayed,  so  long 
will  doubt,  and  jealousy,  and  uncertainty  prevail. 
This  is  the  measure  which  will  elface  the  sad  memory 
of  the  past  ;  this  is  the  measure  which  will  most  cer 
tainly  call  population,  and  capital,  and  security  to 
those  parts  of  the  Union  that  need  thorn  most.  In 
deed,  it  is  not  too  much  to  ask  of  the  States  which  are 
now  resuming  their  places  in  the  family  of  the  Union, 
to  give  this  pledge  of  perpetual  loyalty  and  peace. 
Until  it  is  done,  the  past,  however  much  we  may  de 
sire  it,  will  not  be  forgotten.  The  adoption  of  the 
amendment  reunites  us  beyond  all  power  of  disrup 
tion.  It  heals  the  wound  that  is  still  imperfectly 
closed  ;  it  removes  slavery,  tho  element  which  has  so 
long  perplexed  and  divided  the  country  ;  it  makes  of 
us  once  more  a  united  people,  renewed  and  strength 
ened,  bound  more  than  ever  to  mutual  affection  and 
support. 

"  The  amendment  to  the  Constitution  being  adopted, 
it  would  remain  for  tho  States,  whose  powers  have 


SERVICES    AND    SPEECHES.  291 

been  so  long  in  abeyance,  to  resume  their  places  in 
the  two  branches  of  the  National  Legislature,  and 
thereby  complete  the  work  of  restoration.  Here  it  is 
for  yon,  fellow-citizens  of  the  Senate,  and  for  you, 
fellow-citizens  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  to 
judge,  each  of  you  for  yourselves,  of  the  elec 
tions,  returns,  and  qualifications  of  your  own  mem 
bers. 

"  The  full  assertion  of  the  powers  of  the  General 
Government  requires  the  holding  of  circuit  courts  of 
the  United  States  within  the  districts  where  their  au 
thority  has  been  interrupted.  In  the  present  posture 
of  our  public  affairs,  strong  objections  have  been  urged 
to  holding  those  courts  in  any  of  the  States  where  the 
rebellion  has  existed ;  and  it  was  ascertained,  by  in 
quiry,  that  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States 
would  not  be  held  within  the  District  of  Virginia  dur 
ing  the  autumn  or  early  winter,  nor  until  Congress 
should  have  '  an  opportunity  to  consider  and  act  on 
the  whole  subject.'  To  your  deliberations  the  restora 
tion  of  this  branch  of  the  civil  authority  of  the  United 
States  is  therefore  necessarily  referred,  with  the  hope 
that  early  provision  will  be  made  for  the  resumption 
of  all  its  functions.  It  is  manifest  that  treason,  most 
flagrant  in  character,  has  been  committed.  Persons 
who  are  charged  with  its  commission  should  have  fair 
and  impartial  trials  in  the  highest  civil  tribunals  of 
the  country,  in  order  that  the  Constitution  and  the 
laws  may  be  fully  vindicated;  the  truth  clearly  estab 
lished  and  affirmed  that  treason  is  a  crime,  that  traitors 
should  be  punished  and  the  offence  made  infamous; 
and,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  question  may  be  judi 
cially  settled,  finally  and  forever,  that  no  State,  of  its 


292  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

own  will,  has  the  right  to  renounce  its  place  in  the 
Union. 

"The  relations  of  the  General  Government  towards 
the  four  millions  of  inhabitants,  whom  the  war  has 
called  into  freedom,  have  engaged  rny  most  serious 
consideration.  On  the  propriety  of  attempting  to 
make  the  freedmen  electors  by  the  proclamation  of  the 
Executive,  I  took  for  my  counsel  the  Constitution 
itself,  the  interpretations  of  that  instrument  by  its  au 
thors  and  their  contemporaries,  and  recent  legislation 
by  Congress.  When,  at  the  first  movement  towards 
independence,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  in 
structed  the  several  States  to  institute  governments 
of  their  own,  they  left  each  State  to  decide  for  itself 
the  conditions  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  elective  fran 
chise.  During  the  period  of  the  confederacy,  there 
continued  to  exist  a  very  great  diversity  in  the  quali 
fications  of  electors  in  the  several  States;  and  even 
within  a  State  a  distinction  of  qualifications  prevailed 
with  regard  to  the  officers  who  were  to  be  chosen. 
The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  recognizes  these 
diversities  when  it  enjoins  that,  in  the  choice  of  mem 
bers  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States,  '  the  electors  in  each  State  shall  have  the 
qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the  most  numer 
ous  branch  of  the  State  Legislature.'  After  the  for 
mation  of  the  Constitution,  it  remained,  as  before,  the 
uniform  usage  for  each  State  to  enlarge  the  body  of 
its  electors,  according  to  its  own  judgment;  and,  un 
der  this  system,  one  State;  after  another  has  proceeded 
to  increase  the  number  of  its  electors,  until  now  uni 
versal  suffrage,  or  something  very  near  it,  is  the  gen 
eral  rule.  So  fixed  was  this  reservation  of  power  in 


SERVICES    AND   SPEECHES.  293 

the  habits  of  the  people,  and  so  unquestioned  has  been 
the  interpretation  of  the  Constitution,  that  during-  the 
civil  war  the  late  President  never  harbored  the  pur 
pose — certainly  never  avowed  the  purpose — of  disre 
garding  it;  and  in  the  acts  of  Congress,  during  tha.t 
period,  nothing  can  be  found  which,  during  the  con 
tinuance  of  hostilities,  much  less  after  their  close, 
would  have  sanctioned  any  departure  by  the  Executive 
from  a  policy  which  has  so  uniformly  obtained.  More 
over,  a  concession  of  the  elective  franchise  to  the 
freedrnen,  by  act  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
must  have  been  extended  to  all  colored  men,  wherever 
found,  and  so  must  have  established  a  change  of  suf 
frage  in  the  T%rthern,  Middle,  and  Western  States, 
not  less  than  in  the  Southern  and  Southwestern. 
Such  an  act  would  have  created  a  new  class  of 
voters,  and  would  have  been  an  assumption  of 
power  by  the  President  which  nothing  in  the  Con 
stitution  or  laws  of  the  United  States  would  have 
warranted. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  every  danger  of  conflict  is 
avoided  when  the  settlement  of  the  question  is  re 
ferred  to  the  several  States.  They  can,  each  for  it 
self,  decide  on  the  measure,  and  whether  it  is  to  be 
adopted  at  once  and  absolutely,  or  introduced  gradu 
ally  and  with  conditions.  In  my  judgment,  the  freed- 
men,  if  they  show  patience  and  manly  virtues,  will 
sooner  obtain  a  participation  in  the  elective  franchise 
through  the  States  than  through  the  General  Govern 
ment,  even  if  it  had  power  to  intervene.  When  the 
tumult  of  emotions  that  have  been  raised  by  the  sud 
denness  of  the  social  change  shall  have  subsided,  it 
may  prove  that  they  will  receive  the  kindliest  usage 


294  ANDREW   JOHNSON". 

from  some  of  those   on   whom   they  have   heretofore 
most  closely  depended. 

"  But  while  I  have  no  doubt  thut  now,  after  the  close 
of  the  war,  it  is  not  competent  for  the  General  Gov 
ernment  to  extend  the  elective  franchise  in  the  several 
States,  it  is  equally  clear  that  good  faith  requires  the 
security  of  the  freedmen  in  their  liberty  and  their 
property,  their  right  to  labor,  and  their  right  to  claim 
the  just  return  of  their  labor.  I  cannot  too  strongly 
urge  a  dispassionate  treatment  of  this  subject,  which 
should  be  carefully  kept  aloof  from  all  party  strife. 
We  must  equally  avoid  hasty  assumptions  of  any 
natural  impossibility  for  the  two  races  to  live  side  by 
side,  in  a  state  of  mutual  benefit  and  good-will.  The 
experiment  involves  us  in  no  inconsistency  ;  let  us, 
then,  go  on  and  make  that  experiment  in  good  faith, 
and  not  be  too  easily  disheartened.  The  country  is 
in  need  of  labor,  and  the  freedmen  are  in  need  of  em 
ployment,  culture,  and  protection.  While  their  right 
of  voluntary  migration  and  expatriation  is  not  to  be 
questioned,  I  would  not  advise  their  forced  removal 
and  colonization.  Let  us  rather  encourage  them  to 
honorable  and  useful  industry,  where  it  may  be  bene 
ficial  to  themselves  and  to  the  country  ;  and,  instead 
of  hasty  anticipations  of  the  certainty  of  failure,  ]et 
there  be  nothing  wanting  to  the  fair  trial  of  the  ex 
periment.  The  change  in  their  condition  is  the  sub 
stitution  of  labor  by  contract  for  the  status  of  slavery. 
The  freedman  cannot  fairly  be  accused  of  unwilling 
ness  to  work,  so  long  as  a  doubt  remains  about  his 
freedom  of  choice  in  his  pursuits,  and  the  certainty  of 
his  recovering  his  stipulated  wages.  In  tin's  the  in 
terests  of  the  employer  and  the  employed  coincide. 


SERVICES  AND   SPEECHES.  295 

The  employer  desires  in  his  workmen  spirit  and  alac 
rity,  and  these  can  be  permanently  secured  in  no  other 
way.  And  if  the  one  oupht  to  be  able  to  enforce  the 
contract,  so  ought  the  other.  The  public  interest  will 
be  best  promoted,  if  the  several  States  will  provide 
adequate  protection  and  remedies  for  the  freedmen. 
Until  this  is  in  some  way  accomplished,  there  is  no 
chance  for  the  advantageous  use  of  their  labor  ;  and 
the  blame  of  ill-success  will  not  rest  on  them. 

"  I  know  that  sincere  philanthropy  is  earnest  for 
the  immediate  realization  of  its  remotest  aims  ;  but 
time  is  always  an  element  in  reform.  It  is  one  of  the 
greatest  acts  on  record  to  have  brought  four  millions 
of  people  into  freedom.  The  career  of  free  industry 
must  be  fairly  opened  to  them  ;  and  then  their  future 
prosperity  and  condition  must,  after  all,  rest  mainly 
on  themselves.  If  they  fail,  and  so  perish  away,  let 
«s  be  careful  that  the  failure  shall  not  be  attributable 
to  any  denial  of  justice.  In  all  that  relates  to  the 
destiny  of  the  freedmen,  we  need  not  be  too  anxious 
to  read  the  future  •  many  incidents  which,  from  a 
speculative  point  of  view,  might  raise  alarm,  will 
quietly  settle  themselves. 

"  Now  that  slavery  is  at  an  end,  or  near  its  end,  the 
greatness  of  its  evil,  in  the  point  of  view  of  public 
economy,  becomes  more  and  more  apparent.  Slavery 
was  essentially  a  monopoly  of  labor,  and  as  such 
locked  the  States  where  it  prevailed  against  the  in 
coming  of  free  industry.  Where  labor  was  the  prop 
erty  of  the  capitalist,  the  white  man  was  excluded 
from  employment,  or  had  but  the  second  best  chance 
of  finding  it  ;  and  the  foreign  emigrant  turned  away 
from  the  region  where  his  condition  would  be  so  pre- 


296  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

carious.  With  the  destruction  of  the  monopoly,  free 
labor  will  hasten  from  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world 
to  assist  in  developing  various  and  immeasurable  re 
sources  which  have  hitherto  lain  dormant.  The  eight 
or  nine  States  nearest  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  have  a  soil 
of  exuberant  fertility,  a  climate  friendly  to  long-  life, 
and  can  sustain  a  denser  population  than  is  found  as 
yet  in  any  part  of  our  country.  And  the  future  influx 
of  population  to  them  will  be  mainly  from  the  North, 
or  from  the  most  cultivated  nations  in  Europe.  From 
the  sufferings  that  have  attended  them  during  our 
late  struggle,  let  us  look  away  to  the  future,  which  is 
sure  to  be  laden  for  them  with  greater  prosperity  than 
has  ever  before  been  known.  The  removal  of  the 
monopoly  of  slave  labor  is  a  pledge  that  those  regions 
will  be  peopled  by  a  numerous  and  enterprising  popu 
lation,  which  will  vie  with  any  in  the  Union  in  com 
pactness,  inventive  genius,  wealth,  and  industry. 

"  Our  Government  springs  from  and  was  made  for 
the  people — not  the  people  for  the  Government.  To 
them  it  owes  allegiance;  from  them  it  must  derive  its 
courage,  strength,  and  wisdom.  But,  while  the  Gov 
ernment  is  thus  bound  to  defer  to  the  people,  from 
whom  it  derives  its  existence,  it  should,  from  the  very 
consideration  of  its  origin,  be  strong  in  its  power  of 
resistance  to  the  establishment  of  inequalities.  Mo 
nopolies,  perpetuities,  and  class  legislation  are  con 
trary  to  the  genius  of  free  government,  and  ought  not, 
to  be  allowed.  Here,  there  is  no  room  for  favored 
classes  or  monopolies  :  the  principle  of  our  Govern 
ment  is  that  of  equal  laws  and  freedom  of  industry. 
Wherever  a  monopoly  attains  a  foothold,  it  is  sure  to 
be  a  source  of  danger,  discord,  and  trouble.  We  shall 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  297 

but  fulfil  our  duties  as  legislators  by  according  'equal 
and  exact  justice  to  all  men,'  special  privileges  to 
none.  The  Government  is  subordinate  to  the  people; 
but,  as  the  agent  and  representative  of  the  people,  it 
must  be  held  superior  to  monopolies,  which,  in  them 
selves,  ought  never  to  be  granted,  and  which,  where 
they  exist,  must  be  subordinate  and  yield  to  the  Gov 
ernment. 

"The  Constitution  confers  on  Congress  the  right  to 
regulate  commerce  among  the  several  States.  It  is 
of  the  first  necessity,  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
Union,  that  that  commerce  should  be  free  and  unob 
structed.  No  State  can  be  justified  in  any  device  to 
tax  the  transit  of  travel  and  commerce  between 
States.  The  position  of  many  States  is  such  that,  if 
they  were  allowed  to  take  advantage  of  it  for  pur 
poses  of  local  revenue,  the  commerce  between  States 
might  be  injuriously  burdened,  or  even  virtually  pro 
hibited.  It  is  best,  while  the  country  is  still  young, 
and  while  the  tendency  to  dangerous  monopolies  of 
this  kind  is  still  feeble,  to  use  the  power  of  Congress 
so  as  to  prevent  any  selfish  impediment  to  the  free 
circulation  of  men  and  merchandise.  A  tax  on  travel 
and  merchandise,  in  their  transit,  constitutes  one  of 
the  worst  forms  of  monopoly,  and  the  evil  is  increased 
if  coupled  with  a  denial  of  the  choice  of  route.  When 
the  vast  extent  of  our  country  is  considered,  it  is 
plain  that  every  obstacle  to  the  free  circulation  of 
commerce  between  the  States  ought  to  be  sternly 
guarded  against  by  appropriate  legislation,  within 
the  limits  of  the  Constitution. 

"  The  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  ex 
plains  the  condition  of  the  public  lands,  the  transao 
13* 


293  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

tions  of  the  Patent  Office  and  the  Pension  Bureau, 
the  management  of  our  Indian  affairs,  the  progress 
made  in  the  construction  of  the  Pacific  railroad,  and 
furnishes  information  in  reference  to  matters  of  local 
interest  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  It  also  presents 
evidence  of  the  successful  operation  of  the  Homestead 
Act,  under  the  provisions  of  which  1,160,533  acres  of 
the  public  lands  were  entered  during1  the  last  fiscal 
year — more  than  one-fourth  of  the  whole  number  of 
acres  sold  or  otherwise  disposed  of  during  that  period. 
It  is  estimated  that  the  receipts  derived  from  this 
source  are  sufficient  to  cover  the  expenses  incident  to 
the  survey  and  disposal  of  the  lands  entered  under 
this  act,  and  that  payments  in  cash  to  the  extent  of 
from  forty  to  fifty  per  cent,  will  be  made  by  settlers, 
who  may  thus  at  any  time  acquire  title  before  the  ex 
piration  of  the  period  at  which  it  would  otherwise 
vest.  The  homestead  policy  was  established  only 
after  long  and  earnest  resistance  :  experience  proves 
its  wisdom.  The  lands,  in  the  hands  of  industrious 
settlers,  whose  labor  creates  wealth  and  contributes 
to  the  public  resources,  arc  worth  more  to  the  United 
States  than  if  they  had  been  reserved  as  a  solitude 
for  future  purchasers. 

"  The  lamentable  events  of  the  last  four  years,  and 
the  sacrifices  made  by  the  gallant  men  of  our  army 
and  navy,  have  swelled  the  records  of  the  Pension 
Bureau  to  an  unprecedented  extent.  On  the  30th  day 
of  June  last,  the  total  number  of  pensioners  was 
85,980,  requiring  for  their  annual  pay,  exclusive  of 
expenses,  the  sum  of  $8,023,445.  The  number  of  ap 
plications  that  have  been  allowed  since  that  date  will 
require  a  large  increase  of  this  amount  for  the  next 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  299 

fiscal  year.  The  means  for  the  payment  of  the  sti 
pends  due,  under  existing  laws,  to  our  disabled  sol 
diers  and  sailors,  and  to  the  families  of  such  as  have 
perished  in  the  service  of  the  country,  will  no  doubt 
be  cheerfully  and  promptly  granted.  A  grateful 
people  will  not  hesitate  to  sanction  any  measures 
having  for  their  object  the  relief  of  soldiers  mutilated 
and  families  made  fatherless  in  the  efforts  to  preserve 
our  national  existence. 

"  The  report  of  the  postmaster-general  presents  an 
encouraging  exhibit  of  the  operations  of  the  Post- 
office  Department  during  the  year.  The  revenues  of 
the  past  year  from  the  loyal  States  alone  exceeded 
the  maximum  annual  receipts  from  all  the  States  pre 
vious  to  the  rebellion,  in  the  sum  of  $6,038,091  ;  and 
the  annual  average  increase  of  revenue  during  the 
last  four  years,  compared  with  the  revenues  of  the 
four  years  immediately  preceding  the  rebellion,  was 
$3,533,845.  The  revenues  of  the  last  fiscal  year 
amounted  to  $14,556,158,  and  the  expenditures  to 
$13,694,728,  leaving  a  surplus  of  receipts  over  expendi 
tures  of  $861,430.  Progress  has  been  made  in  re 
storing  the  postal  service  in  the  Southern  States. 
The  views  presented  by  the  postmaster-general 
against  the  policy  of  granting  subsidies  to  ocean  mail 
steamship  lines  upon  established  routes,  and  in  favor 
of  continuing  the  present  system,  which  limits  the 
compensation  for  ocean  service  to  the  postage  earn 
ings,  are  recommended  to  the  careful  consideration  of 
Congress. 

"  It  appears,  from  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  that  while,  at  the  commencement  of  the  pres 
ent  year,  there  were  in  commission  530  vessels  of  all 


300  AXDKI-JW    JOHXSOX. 

descriptions,  armed  with  3,000  guns  and  manned  by 
51,000  men,  the  number  of  vessels  at  present  in  coin- 
mission  is  117,  with  830  guns  and  12,128  men.  By 
this  prompt  reduction  of  the  naval  forces  the  expenses 
of  the  Government  have  been  largely  diminished,  and 
a  number  of  vessels,  purchased  for  naval  purposes 
from  the  merchant  marine,  have  been  returned  to  the 
peaceful  pursuits  of  commerce.  Since  the  suppres 
sion  of  active  hostilities  our  foreign  squadrons  have 
"been  re-established,  and  consist  of  vessels  much  more 
efficient  than  those  employed  on  similar  service  pre 
vious  to  the  rebellion.  The  suggestion  for  the  en 
largement  of  the  navy-yards,  and  especially  for  the 
establishment  of  one  in  fresh  water  for  iron-clad  ves 
sels,  is  deserving  of  consideration,  as  is  also  the 
recommendation  for  a  different  location  and  more 
ample  grounds  for  the  naval  academy. 

"  In  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  a  general 
summary  is  given  of  the  military  campaigns  of  1864 
and  18G5,  ending  in  the  suppression  of  armed  resist 
ance  to  the  national  authority  in  the  insurgent  States, 
The  operations  of  the  general  administrative  bureaus, 
of  the  War  Department  during  the  past  year  are 
detailed,  and  an  estimate  made  of  the  appropriations 
that  will  be  required  for  military  purposes  in  the  fis 
cal  year  commencing  the  30th  day  of  June,  1866, 
The  national  military  force  on  the  1st  of  May,  1865, 
numbered  1,000,516  men.  It  is  proposed  to  reduce 
the  military  establishment  to  a  peace  footing",  compre 
hending  fifty  thousand  troops  of  all  arms.,  organized 
«o  as  to  admit  of  an  enlargement  by  filling  up  the 
Tanks  to  eighty-two  thousand  six  hundred,  if  the  cir 
cumstances  of  the  country  should  require  an  aug- 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  301 

mentation  of  the  army.  The  volunteer  force  has 
already  been  reduced  by  the  discharge  from  service 
of  over  eight  hundred  thousand  troop3,  and  the  de 
partment  is  proceeding  rapidly  in  the  work  of  further 
reduction.  The  war  estimates  are  reduced  from 
$516,240,131  to  $33,814,461,  which  amount,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  department,  is  adequate  for  a  peace 
establishment.  The  measures  of  retrenchment  in 
each  bureau  and  branch  of  the  service  exhibit  a  dili 
gent  economy  worthy  of  commendation.  Reference 
is  also  made  in  the  report  to  the  necessity  of  provid 
ing  for  a  uniform  militia  system,  and  to  the  propriety 
of  making  suitable  provision  for  wounded  and  disabled 
officers  and  soldiers. 

"  The  revenue  system  of  the  country  is  a  subject 
of  vital  interest  to  its  honor  and  prosperity,  and 
should  command  the  earnest  consideration  of  Con 
gress.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  will  lay  be 
fore  you  a  full  and  detailed  report  of  the  receipts  arid, 
disbursements  of  the  last  fiscal  year,  of  the  first  quar 
ter  of  the  present  fiscal  year,  of  the  probable  receipts 
and  expenditures  for  the  other  three  quarters,  and 
the  estimates  for  the  year  following  the  30th  of  June, 
1866.  I  might  content  myself  with  a  reference  to 
that  report,  in  which  you  will  find  all  the  information 
required  for  your  deliberations  and  decision.  But  the 
paramount  importance  of  the  subject  so  presses  itself 
on  my  own  mind,  that  I  cannot  but  lay  before  you 
my  views  of  the  measures  which  are  required  for  the 
good  character,  arid,  I  might  almost  say,  for  the  exist 
ence  of  this  people.  The  life  of  a  republic  lies  cer 
tainly  in  the  energy,  virtue,  and  intelligence  of  its 
citizens  ;  but  it  is  equally  true  that  a  good  revenue 


302  ANDRE VT   JOHNSON. 

system  is  the  life  of  an  organized  government.  I 
meet  you  ot  a  time  when  the  nation  lias  voluntarily 
burdened  itself  with  a  debt  unprecedented  in  our 
annals.  Vast  as  is  its  amount,  it  fades  away  into 
nothing  when  compared  with  the  countless  blessings 
that  will  be  conferred  upon  our  country  and  upon 
man  by  the  preservation  of  the  nation's  life.  Now, 
on  the  first  occasion  of  the  meeting  of  Congress  since 
the  return  of  peace,  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to 
inaugurate  a  just  policy,  which  shall  at  once  be 
put  in  motion,  and  which  shall  commend  itself 
to  those  who  come  after  us  for  its  continuance.  We 
must  aim  at  nothing  less  than  the  complete  cflface- 
ment  of  the  financial  evils  that  necessarily  follow  a 
state  of  civil  war.  We  must  endeavor  to  apply  the 
earliest  remedy  to  the  deranged  state  of  the  currency, 
and  not  shrink  from  devising  a  policy  which,  without 
being  oppressive  to  the  people,  shall  immediately  be 
gin  to  effect  a  reduction  of  the  debt,  and,  if  persisted 
in,  discharge  it  fully  within  a  definitely  fixed  number 
of  years. 

"  It  is  our  first  duty  to  prepare  in  earnest  for  our 
recovery  from  the  ever-increasing  evils  of  an  irre 
deemable  currency,  without  a  sudden  revulsion,  and 
yet  without  untimely  procrastination.  For  that  end, 
we  must,  each  in  our  respective  positions,  prepare  the 
way.  I  hold  it  the  duty  of  the  Executive  to  insist 
upon  frugality  in  the  expenditures  ;  and  a  sparing1 
economy  is  itself  a  great  national  resource.  01'  the 
banks  to  which  authority  lias  been  given  to  issue 
notes  secured  by  bonds  of  the  United  States,  we  may 
require  the  greatest  moderation  and  prudence,  and 
the  law  must  be  rigidly  enforced  when  its  limits  are 


SERVICES   AND   SPEECHES.  303 

exceeded.  We  may,  each  one  of  us,  counsel  our  ac 
tive  and  enterprising*  countrymen  to  be  constantly  on 
their  guard,  to  liquidate  debts  contracted  in  a  paper 
currency,  and,  by  conducting  business  as  nearly  as 
possible  on  a  system  of  cash  payments  or  short  credits, 
to  hold  themselves  prepared  to  return  to  the  standard 
of  gold  and  silver.  To  aid  our  fellow-citizens  in  the 
prudent  management  of  their  monetary  affairs,  the 
duty  devolves  on  us  to  diminish  by  law  the  amount 
of  paper  money  now  in  circulation.  Five  years  ago 
the  bank-note  circulation  of  the  country  amounted  to 
not  much  more  than  two  hundred  millions  ;  now  the 
circulation,  bank  and  national,  exceeds  seven  hundred 
millions.  The  simple  statement  of  this  fact  recom 
mends  more  strongly  than  any  words  of  mine  could 
do,  the  necessity  of  our  restraining  this  expansion. 
The  gradual  reduction  of  the  currency  is  the  only 
measure  that  can  save  the  business  of  the  country 
from  disastrous  calamities  ;  and  this  can  be  almost 
imperceptibly  accomplished  by  gradually  funding  the 
national  circulation  in  securities  that  may  be  made 
redeemable  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Government. 

"  Our  debt  is  doubly  secure — first  in  the  actual 
wealth  and  still  greater  undeveloped  resources  of  the 
country  ;  and  next  in  the  character  of  our  institu 
tions.  The  most  intelligent  observers  among  politi 
cal  economists  have  not  failed  to  remark,  that  the 
public  debt  of  a  country  is  safe  in  proportion  as  its 
people  are  free  ;  that  the  debt  of  a  republic  is  the 
safest  of  all.  Our  history  confirms  and  establishes 
the  theory,  and  is,  I  firmly  believe,  destined  to  give  it 
a  still  more  signal  illustration.  The  secret  of  this 
superiority  springs  not  merely  from  the  fact  that  in  a 


304  ANDREW    JOHNSON". 

lepublic  the  national  obligations  are  distributed  more 
widely  through  countless  numbers  in  all  classes  of 
society  ;  it  has  its  root  in  the  character  of  our  laws. 
Here  all  men  contribute  to  the  public  welfare,  and 
bear  their  fair  share  of  the  public  burdens.  During 
the  war,  under  the  impulses  of  patriotism,  the  men  of 
the  great  body  of  the  people,  without  regard  to  their 
own  comparative  want  of  wealth,  thronged  to  our 
armies  and  filled  our  fleets  of  war,  and  held  them 
selves  ready  to  offer  their  lives  for  the  public  good: 
Now,  in  their  turn,  the  property  and  income  of  the 
country  should  bear  their  just  proportion  of  the  bur 
den  of  taxation,  while  in  our  impost  system,  through 
means  of  which  increased  vitality  is  incidentally  im 
parted  to  all  the  industrial  interests  of  the  nation,  the 
duties  should  be  so  adjusted  as  to  fall  most  heavily 
on  articles  of  luxury,  leaving  the  necessaries  of  life 
as  free  from  taxation  as  the  absolute  wants  of  the 
Government,  economically  administered,  will  justify. 
No  favored  class  should  demand  freedom  from  assess 
ment,  and  the  taxes  should  be  so  distributed  as  not 
to  fall  unduly  on  the  poor,  but  rather  on  the  accumu 
lated  wealth  of  the  country.  We  should  look  at  the 
national  debt  just  as  it  is — not  as  a  national  bless 
ing,  but  as  a  heavy  burden  on  the  industry  of  the  coun 
try,  to  be  discharged  without  unnecessary  delay. 

"It  is  estimated  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
that  the  expenditures  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  the  80th 
of  June,  1800,  will  exceed  the  receipts  $112,194,947. 
It  is  gratifying,  however,  to  state  that  it  is  also  es 
timated  that  the  revenue  for  the  year  ending  the  30th 
of  June,  1807,  will  exceed  the  expenditures  in  the 
euin  of  $111,632,818.  This  amount,  or  so  much  as 


SERVICES    AND   SPEECHES.  305 

may  be  deemed  sufficient  for  the  purpose,  may  be  ap 
plied  to  the  reduction  of  the  public  debt,  which,  on 
the  31st  day  of  October,  1865,  was  $2,740,854,750. 
Every  reduction  will  diminish  the  total  amount  of 
interest  to  be  paid,  and  so  enlarge  the  means  of  still 
further  reductions,  until  the  whole  shall  be  liquidated  ; 
and  this,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  estimates  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  may  be  accomplished  by 
annual  payments  even  within  a  period  not  exceeding 
thirty  years.  I  have  faith  that  we  shall  do  all  this 
within  a  reasonable  time  ;  that,  as  we  have  amazed 
the  world  by  the  suppression  of  a  civil  war  which  was 
thought  to  be  beyond  the  control  of  any  Government, 
so  we  shall  equally  show  the  superiority  of  our  insti 
tutions  by  the  prompt  and  faithful  discharge  of  our 
national  obligations. 

"  The  Department  of  Agriculture,  under  its  present 
direction,  is  accomplishing  much  in  developing  arid 
utilizing  the  vast  agricultural  capabilities  of  the 
country,  and  for  information  respecting  the  details  of 
its  management  reference  is  made  to  the  annual  re 
port  of  the  Commissioner. 

"  I  have  dwelt  thus  fully  oil  our  domestic  affairs 
because  of  their  transcendent  importance.  Under  any 
circumstances,  our  great  extent  of  territory  and  variety 
of  climate,  producing  almost  every  thing  that  is  neces 
sary  for  the  wants,  and  even  the  comforts  of  man, 
make  us  singularly  independent  of  the  varying  policy 
of  foreign  powers,  and  protect  us  against  every  temp 
tation  to  '  entangling  alliances  ;'  while  at  the  present 
moment  the  re-establishment  of  harmony,  and  the 
strength  that  comes  from  harmony,  will  be  our  best 
security  against  '  nations  who  feel  power  and  forget 


306  ANDREW 


right/  For  myself,  it  has  been  and  it  will  ho  my  con 
stant  aim  to  promote  peace  and  amity  with  all  foreign 
nations  and  powers  ;  and  I  have  every  reason  to  be 
lieve  that  they  all,  without  exception,  are  animated 
by  the  same  disposition.  Our  relations  with  the 
Emperor  of  China,  so  recent  in  their  origin,  are  most 
friendly.  Our  commerce  with  his  dominions  is  re 
ceiving  new  developments  ;  and  it  is  very  pleasing 
to  find  that  the  Government  of  that  great  empire 
manifests  satisfaction  with  our  policy,  and  reposes 
just  confidence  in  the  fairness  which  marks  our  inter 
course.  The  unbroken  harmony  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Emperor  of  Russia  is  receiving  a  new 
support  from  an  enterprise  designed  to  carry  the  tele 
graphic  lines  across  the  continent  of  Asia,  through 
his  dominions,  and  so  to  connect  us  with  all  Europe 
by*a  new  channel  of  intercourse.  Our  commerce  with 
South  America  is  about  to  receive  encouragement  by 
a  direct  line  of  mail  steamships  to  the  rising  Empire 
of  Brazil.  The  distinguished  party  of  men  of  science 
who  have  recently  left  our  country  to  make  a  scien 
tific  exploration  of  the  natural  history  and  rivers  and 
mountain  ranges  of  that  region,  have  received  from 
the  emperor  that  generous  welcome  which  was  to 
have  been  expected  from  his  constant  friendship  for 
the  United  States,  and  his  well-known  zeal  in  promot 
ing  the  advancement  of  knowledge.  A  hope  is  en 
tertained  that  our  commerce  with  the  rich  and  popu 
lous  countries  that  border  the  Mediterranean  sea  may 
be  largely  increased.  Nothing  will  be  wanting,  on 
tlr.-  part  of  this  Government,  to  extend  the  protection 
of  our  flag  over  the  enterprise  of  our  fellow-citizens. 
\Ve  receive  from  the  powers  in  that  region  assurances 


SERVICES    AND   SPEECHES.  307 

of  good-will  •  and  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  a  special 
envoy  has  brought  us  messages  of  condolence  on  the 
death  of  our  late  Chief  Magistrate  from  the  Bey  of 
Tunis,  whose  rule  includes  the  old  dominions  of  Car 
thage,  on  the  African  coast. 

"  Our  domestic  contest,  now  happily  ended,  has  left 
some  traces  in  our  relations  with  one  at  least  of  the 
great  maritime  powers.  The  formal  accordance  of 
belligerent  rights  to  the  insurgent  States  was  unpre 
cedented,  and  has  not  been  justified  by  the  issue.  But 
in  the  systems  of  neutrality  pursued  by  the  powers 
which  made  that  concession,  there  was  a  marked  dif 
ference.  The  materials  of  war  for  the  insurgent  States 
were  furnished,  in  a  great  measure,  from  the  work 
shops  of  Great  Britain  ;  and  British  ships,  manned  by 
British  subjects,  and  prepared  for  receiving  British 
armaments,  sailed  from  the  ports  of  Great  Britain  to 
make  war  on  American  commerce,  under  the  shelter 
of  a  commission  from  the  insurgent  States.  These 
ships,  having  once  escaped  from  British  ports,  ever 
afterwards  entered  them  in  every  part  of  the  world, 
to  refit,  and  so  to  renew  their  depredations.  The  con 
sequences  of  this  conduct  were  most  disastrous  to  the 
States  then  in  rebellion,  increasing  their  desolation 
and  misery  by  the  prolongation  of  our  civil  contest. 
It  had,  moreover,  the  effect,  to  a  great  extent,  to  drive 
the  American  flag  from  the  sea,  and  to  transfer  much 
of  our  shipping  and  commerce  to  the  very  power 
whose  subjects  had  created  the  necessity  for  such  a 
change.  These  events  took  place  before  I  was  called 
to  the  administration  of  the  Government.  The  sin 
cere  desire  for  peace  by  which  I  am  animated,  led  me 
to  approve  the  proposal,  already  made,  to  submit  the 


308  AXDHEW    JOIIXSOX. 

questions  which  had  thus  arisen  between  the  coun 
tries  to  arbitration.  These  questions  are  of  such  mo 
ment  that  they  must  have  commanded  the  attention  of 
the  great  p.nvers,  and  are  so  interwoven  with  the 
peace  and  interests  of  every  one  of  them  as  to  have 
insured  an  impartial  decision.  I  regret  to  inform  you. 
that  Great  Britain  declined  the  arbitrament,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  invited  us  to  the  formation  of  a  joint 
commission  to  settle  mutual  claims  between  the  two 
countries,  from  which  those  for  the  depredations  be 
fore-mentioned  should  be  excluded.  The  proposi 
tion,  in  that  very  unsatisfactory  form,  has  been  de 
clined. 

"  The  United  States  did  not  present  the  subject  as 
an  impeachment  of  the  good  faith  of  a  power  which 
was  professing  the  most  friendly  dispositions,  but  as 
involving  questions  of  public  law,  of  which  the  settle 
ment  is  essential  to  the  peace  of  nations;  and,  though 
pecuniary  reparation  to  their  injured  citizens  would 
have  followed  incidentally  on  a  decision  against  Great 
Britain,  such  compensation  was  not  their  primary  ob 
ject.  They  had  a  higher  motive,  and  it  was  in  the 
interests  of  peace  and  justice  to  establish  important 
principles  of  international  law.  The  correspondence 
will  be  placed  before  you.  The  ground  on  which  the 
British  Minister  rests  his  justification  is,  substantially, 
that  the  municipal  law  of  a  nation,  and  the  domestic 
interpretations  of  that  law,  are  the  nu-asuic  of  its  duty 
as  a  neutral;  and  1  feel  bound  to  declare1  rny  opinion, 
before  you  and  before  the  world,  that  that  justifica 
tion  cannot  be  sustained  before  the  tribunal  of  nations. 
At  the  same  time,  I  do  not  advise  to  any  present  at 
tempt  at  redress  by  acts  of  legislation.  For  the  future, 


SERVICES    AND   SPEECHES.  309 

friendship  between  the  two  countries  must  rest  on  the 
basis  of  mutual  justice. 

"  From  the  moment  of  the  establishment  of  our  free 
Constitution,  the  civilized  world  lias  been  convulsed 
by  revolutions  in  the  interests  of  democracy  or  of 
monarchy  ;  but  through  all  those  revolutions  the 
United  States  have  wisely  and  firmly  refused  to  be 
come  propagandists  of  republicanism.  It  is  the  only 
government  suited  to  our  condition  ;  but  we  have 
never  sought  to  impose  it  on  others  ;  and  we  have 
consistently  followed  the  advice  of  Washington,  to 
recommend  it  only  by  the  careful  preservation  and 
prudent  use  of  the  blessing.  During  all  the  inter 
vening  period  the  policy  of  European  powers  arid  of 
the  United  States  has,  on  the  whole,  been  harmonious. 
Twice,  indeed,  rumors  of  the  invasion  of  some  parts 
of  America,  in  the  interest  of  monarchy,  have  pre 
vailed  ;  twice  my  predecessors  have  had  occasion  to 
announce  the  views  of  this  nation  in  respect  to  such 
interference.  On  both  occasions  the  remonstrance  of 
the  United  States  was  respected,  from  a  deep  convic 
tion,  on  the  part  of  European  governments,  that  the 
system  of  non-interference  and  mutual  abstinence 
from  propagandism  was  the  true  rule  for  the  two 
hemispheres.  Since  those  times  we  have  advanced 
in  wealth  and  power ;  but  we  retain  the  same  pur 
pose  to  leave  the  nations  of  Europe  to  choose  their 
own  dynasties  and  form  their  own  systems  of  govern 
ment.  This  consistent  moderation  may  justly  demand 
a  corresponding  moderation.  We  should  regard  it 
as  a  great  calamity  to  ourselves,  to  the  cause  of  good 
government,  and  to  the  peace  of  the  world,  should  any 
European  power  challenge  the  American  people,  as  it 


310  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

were,  to  the  defence  of  republicanism  against  foreign 
interference.  We  cannot  foresee,  and  are  unwilling 
to  consider,  what  opportunities  might  present  them 
selves,  what  combinations  might  oiler  to  protect  our 
selves  against  designs  inimical  to  our  form  of  govern 
ment.  The  United  States  desire  to  act  in  the  future 
as  they  have  ever  acted  heretofore  ;  they  never  wiH 
be  driven  from  that  course  but  by  the  aggression  of 
European  powers  ;  and  we  rely  on  the  wisdom  and 
justice  of  those  powers  to  respect  the  system  of  non 
interference  which  has  so  long  been  sanctioned  by 
time,  and  which,  by  its  good  results,  has  approved 
itself  to  both  continents. 

"  The  correspondence  between  the  United  States 
and  France,  in  reference  to  questions  which  have  be 
come  subjects  of  discussion  between  the  two  Govern 
ments,  will,  at  a  proper  time,  be  laid  before  Congress. 

"When,  on  the  organization  of  our  Government, 
under  the  Constitution,  the  President  of  the  United 
States  delivered  his  inaugural  address  to  the  two 
Houses  of  Congress,  he  said  to  them,  and  through 
them  to  the  country  and  to  mankind  :  '  The  preserva 
tion  of  the  sacred  lire  of  liberty  and  the  destiny  of  the 
republican  model  of  government,  are  justly  considered 
as  deeply,  perhaps  as  finally  staked  on  the  experiment 
intrusted  to  the  American  people.'  And  the  House  of 
Representatives  answered  Washington  by  the  voice 
of  Madison  :  'We  adore  the  invisible  hand  which  has 
led  the  American  people,  through  so  many  difficulties, 
to  cherish  a  conscious  responsibility  for  the  destiny 
of  republican  liberty.'  More  than  seventy-six  years 
have  glided  away  since  these  words  were  spoken  ; 
the  United  States  have  passed  through  severer  trials 


SERVICES  AND   SPEECHES.  311 

than  were  foreseen  ;  and  now,  at  this  new  epoch  in 
our  existence  as  one  nation,  with  our  Union  purified 
by  sorrows,  and  strengthened  by  conflict  and  estab 
lished  by  the  virtue  of  the  people,  the  greatness  of 
the  occasion  invites  us  once  more  to  repeat,  with  so 
lemnity,  the  pledges  of  our  fathers  to  hold  ourselves 
answerable  before  our  fellow-men  for  the  success  of 
the  republican  form  of  government.  Experience  has 
proved  its  sufficiency  in  peace  and  in  war  ;  it  has 
vindicated  its  authority  through  dangers,  and  afflic 
tions,  and  sudden  and  terrible  emergencies,  which 
would  have  crushed  any  system  that  had  been  less 
firmly  fixed  in  the  heart  of  the  people.  At  the  in 
auguration  of  Washington  the  foreign  relations  of  the 
country  were  few,  and  its  trade  was  repressed  by  hos 
tile  regulations  ;  now  all  the  civilized  nations  of  the 
globe  welcome  our  commerce,  and  their  Governments 
profess  towards  us  amity.  Then  our  country  felt  its 
way  hesitatingly  along  an  untried  path,  with  States 
so  little  bound  together  by  rapid  means  of  communi 
cation  as  to  be  hardly  known  to  one  another,  and 
with  historic  traditions  extending  over  very  few 
years  ;  now  intercourse  between  the  States  is  swift 
and  intimate  ;  the  experience  of  centuries  has  been 
crowded  into  a  few  generations,  and  has  created  an 
intense,  indestructible  nationality.  Then  our  juris 
diction  did  not  reach  beyond  the  inconvenient  bound 
aries  of  the  territory  which  had  achieved  independ 
ence  ;  now,  through  cessions  of  lands,  first  colonized 
by  Spain  and  France,  the,  country  has  acquired  a  more 
complex  character,  and  has  for  its  natural  limits  the 
chain  of  lakes,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  on  the  east 
and  the  west  the  two  great  oceans.  Other  nations 


312  AX  DUE  W    JOHNSON. 

were  wasted  by  civil  wars  for  ages  before  they  could 
establish  for  themselves  the  necessary  degree  of 
unity  ;  the  latent  conviction  that  our  form  of  govern 
ment  is  the  best  ever  known  to  the  world,  has  enabled 
us  to  emerge  from  civil  war  within  four  years,  with  a 
complete  vindication  of  the  constitutional  authority  of 
the  General  Government,  and  with  our  local  liberties 
and  State  institutions  unimpaired.  The  throngs  of  emi 
grants  that  crowd  to  our  shores  are  witnesses  of  the 
confidence  of  all  peoples  in  our  permanence.  Here  is 
the  great  land  of  free  labor,  where  industry  is  blessed 
with  unexampled  rewards,  and  the  bread  of  the  work- 
ingmari  is  sweetened  by  the  consciousness  that  the 
cause  of  the  country  '  is  his  own  cause,  his  own 
safety,  his  own  dignity.'  Here  every  one  enjoys  the 
free  use  of  his  faculties  and  the  choice  of  activity  as 
a  natural  right.  Here,  under  the  combined  influence 
of  a  fruitful  soil,  genial  climes,  arid  happy  institutions, 
population  has  increased  fifteen-fold  within  a  century. 
Here,  through  the  easy  development  of  boundless  re 
sources,  wealth  has  increased  with  twofold  greater 
rapidity  than  numbers,  so  that  we  have  become 
secure  against  the  financial  vicissitudes  of  other 
countries,  and,  alike  in  business  and  in  opinion,  are 
self-centred  and  truly  independent.  Here  more  and 
more  care  is  given  to  provide  education  for  every  one 
born  on  our  soil.  Here  religion,  released  from  polit 
ical  connection  with  the  civil  government,  refuses  to 
subserve  the  craft  of  statesmen,  and  becomes,  in  its 
independence,  the  spiritual  life  of  the  people.  Here 
toleration  is  extended  to  every  opinion,  in  the  quiet 
certainty  that  truth  needs  only  a  fair  field  to  secure 
the  victory.  Here  the  human  mind  goes  forth  ua- 


SERVICES  AND   SPEECHES.  313 

shackled  in  the  pursuit  of  science,  to  collect  stores  of 
knowledge  and  acquire  an  ever-increasing  mastery 
over  the  forces  of  nature.  Here  the  national  domain 
is  offered  and  held  in  millions  of  separate  freeholds, 
so  that  our  fellow-citizens,  beyond  the  occupants  of  any 
other  part  of  the  earth,  constitute  in  reality  a  people. 
Here  exists  the  democratic  form  of  government ;  and 
that  form  of  government,  by  the  confession  of  European 
statesmen,  '  gives  a  power  of  which  no  other  form  is 
capable,  because  it  incorporates  every  man  with  the 
State,  and  arouses  every  thing  that  belongs  to  the  soul/ 
"  Where,  in  past  history,  does  a  parallel  exist  to 
the  public  happiness  which  is  within  the  reach  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States  ?  Where,  in  any  part  of 
the  globe,  can  institutions  be  found  so  suited  to  their 
habits  or  so  entitled  to  their  love  as  their  own  free 
Constitution?  Every  one  of  them,  then,  in  whatever 
part  of  the  land  he  has  his  home,  must  wish  its  per 
petuity.  Who  of  them  will  not  now  acknowledge,  in 
the  words  of  Washington,  that  '  every  step  by  which 
the  people  of  the  United  States  have  advanced  to  the 
character  of  an  independent  nation,  seems  to  have 
been  distinguished  by  some  token  of  Providential 
agency  ?'  Who  will  not  join  with  me  in  the  prayer, 
that  the  invisible  hand  which  has  led  us  through  the 
clouds  that  gloomed  around  our  path,  will  so  guide  us 
onward  to  a  perfect  restoration  of  fraternal  affection, 
that  we  of  this  day  may  be  able  to  transit  our  great 
inheritance,  of  State  Governments  in  all  their  rights, 
of  the  General  Government  in  its  whole  constitutional 
vigor,  to  our  posterity,  and  they  to  theirs  through 
countless  generations  ?  „  ANDREW  JOHSSOJ(_ 

"  WASHINGTON,  December  4,  1865.'* 


ANDREW   JOHNSON. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

CONCLUSION. 

PRESIDENT  JOHNSON,  providentially  called  to  the 
chief  executive  chair  at  an  extraordinary  crisis, 
when  the  country  was  first  emerging  from  the 
l>lood  and  smoke  of  a  terrible  civil  war,  and  when 
the  world  was  horror-stricken  by  the  news  of 
Lincoln's  assassination — President  Johnson  as 
sumed  his  onerous  duties  at  a  moment's  notice, 
and  has  since  been  discharging  them  with  an 
energy,  tact,  and  discretion  that  cannot  be  too 
highly  extolled.  Without  a  parallel  in  the  history 
of  any  other  people,  in  its  spirit  of  fraternal  mag 
nanimity,  stands  President  Johnson's  wise  and 
beneficent  policy  of  reconciliation  and  reunion. 
Thus  it  is  that  he  is  accepted  by  the  Southern 
people,  not  as  a  conquering  despot,  but  as  a  wel 
come  benefactor  ;  and  hence  their  progress  in  the 
great  task  enjoined  upon  them  of  rebuilding  their 
State  institutions  upon  the  enduring  corner-stones 
of  the  sovereignty  of  the  Union  and  universal 
liberty. 

Never  did  weighter  burden  press  upon  a 
human  being  than  has  rested  upon  the  President 
every  moment  since  he  assumed  the  duties  of  his 


SERVICES   AND    SPEECHES.  315 

exalted  station.  His  doctrine,  that  the  secession 
of  a  State  could  not  carry  it  out  of  the  Union, 
and  that  as  soon  as  it  grounded  its  arms  it  re 
sumed  its  former  status  in  the  federal  group,  has 
been  of  infinite  service  to  him  in  his  well-directed 
efforts  for  a  speedy  restoration.  This  most  de 
sirable  object  is  in  a  way  of  rapid  accomplish 
ment  under  his  well-planned  auspices.  His  first 
annual  message  at  the  opening  of  the  thirty-ninth 
Congress,  which  we  have  given  above,  by  its 
calm  statement  of  the  situation,  and  the  manifest 
knowledge  of  its  author  how  best  to  meet  the 
political  crisis,  is  so  admirably  adapted  as  a  safe 
and  rational  guide  for  both  legislative  and  popu 
lar  action,  as  to  secure  for  its  statements,  its 
reasonings,  and  its  suggestions  a  strong  and  uni 
versal  approbation  from  the  masses  of  the  people. 
The  sympathy  of  the  masses  is  the  firm  tower 
upon  which  the  President  leans  for  support  in 
his  future,  as  he  has  always  done  in  his  past.  It 
has  never  failed  nor  deserted  him  in  former  times, 
when,  to  common  observers,  all  seemed  dark  and 
dismal  around  him,  and  it  will  not  desert  him 
now.  If  a  rabid  fanaticism,  if  a  bitter  prejudice 
shall  attempt  to  oppose  his  wise  and  noble  policy, 
*  he  will  meet  their  attacks 

"  Firm  as  a  rock  of  the  ocean,  that  braves 
A  thousand  wild  waves  on  the  shore. '' 

The  people,  whose  Union  he  will  have  saved 
and  cemented  by  bonds  that  never  can  be  broken, 


316  ANDREW    JOHNSON. 

will  rally  around  their  honest  and  dauntless  be 
nefactor  in  the  might  of  an  irresistible  host. 
From  New  England  to  Texas,  from  the  Old 
Dominion  to  the  Pacific  shore,  the  name  of  An 
drew  Johnson  will  be  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the 
people  as  a  household  word,  and  their  confiding 
gratitude  will  retain  him  as  a  worthy  occupant 
of  the  chair  first  graced  by  the  Father  of  his 
Country. 


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